


Cursed Blood

by buggz



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Kinda
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-01-12 06:43:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 47,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18441173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buggz/pseuds/buggz
Summary: Niklaus Mikaelson has broken the curse, he has figured out how to create more hybrids, but now he needs werewolves. His journey takes him to the Demon wolves, a line of cursed wolves who are forced to stay in their wolf form for eternity. His plan was simple: turn the wolves, take out the Alpha, and build himself an army. But things are never that easy for the Original Hybrid.





	1. Cause for a celebration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this story begins kinda in between of season 3 episode 5 and 6. Here Katherine and Jeremy didn't find Mikael, Damon didn't threaten Klaus, Klaus left after turning Tyler to look for more wolves, Stefan has his humanity off, also I have all the Originals out of their caskets, except for Finn (bc hes such a bore.... jk). It's going to deviant some from the canon plot.

He could feel eyes upon him from the second he set foot into the forest. They watched from a distance as he made his way through the thick underbrush, the light of the full moon illuminating his way. A myth, that was what he was chasing, but Niklaus Mikaelson was an expert on myths, fairy tales, things that should not exist in this world for they were impossible. For he himself had already accomplished the impossible. He had broken the curse placed upon him, preventing him from accessing his true potential. He had won against his mother and figured out how to create more hybrids.

 

Tonight, he would do the impossible yet again.

 

Something in the air changed as he emerged from the tree line into a clearing that was void of anything but grass. The eyes watching him intensified as they waited. He could feel them breathing together, moving around him as he was surrounded. He could feel their bloodlust in the air and his eyes flashed amber in response as he smirked into the void.

 

“Come on now!” he called out into the darkness, spreading his arms out wide if daring one of them to move against him. “I didn't hike all the way up this dreary mountain because I had the free time. Nor am I a patient man.”

 

His response was in the form of growls echoing around him. He spun in a circle, even though he still couldn't make out any figures from the darkness of the forest. Before he could call out again he heard something different. Instead of the sound of paws on forest ground, he heard movement towards him, two feet moving almost silently. The Alpha.

 

Slowly a figure approached from the trees. Klaus could make out the shape of a female, shorter than him by almost a head, long wavy brown hair with streaks of blonde that hung down her back and covered her breast. In the moonlight, he could see that she was nude, but she did nothing to hide her nudity. She approached with the ease only a predator could move with. When they locked eyes he could feel the power radiating off of her from where he stood meters away. She was younger than what he had expected, but there was no mistake. Only the Alpha of her cursed bloodline could shift back into their human form.

 

She tilted her head to the side to study him. She must not have liked what he saw because the next second she lunged at him, moving faster than what he was prepared for. Klaus was knocked back on the ground, but he quickly countered and grabbed hold of her long hair. Using his grip on it to send her flying away from him. When he turned to face her again her eyes had shifted, instead of the green of her eyes from a moment ago he was met with burning red and a mouth full of fangs. She roared at him, crouching on the ground as she prepared herself to lunge again.

 

“I did not come here to fight, little wolf,” he said. The girl growled in response. “I am like you. I have come to help you.”

 

“Lies!” the girl yelled, her voice cracking from disuse.

 

“So the she-wolf speaks? Lovely, this makes this so much easier.” Klaus took a step towards her but stopped when she growled at him. “I know of your cursed blood. I have come to offer you a solution.”

 

“Nonsense,” she growled. “If you know of our curse, then you know there is no way to break it.”

 

Klaus chuckled. “That's the same thing I thought before breaking my own curse.” He made sure their eyes were locked before he allowed his to shift amber. When she made no move to attack he let the black veins to spread from his eyes, revealing his hybrid nature. “There is always a loophole, little wolf. I believe I just might be the one you're looking for.”

 

Uncertainty spread through the wolves surrounding them. As the information spread some began to whine or howl, letting their agitation known. The girl stood from her crouched position and growled, this time gaining the silence of her pack.

 

“What trick is this?” she snapped when she faced him again. The shift melted from her features and she regarded him evenly.

 

“No trick, love, it is as you see. I am a true hybrid, the Original hybrid. In my blood lies the ability to turn any wolf into what I am: free of the sun and free of the moon. I am both vampire and werewolf in one.”

 

“What do you want?”

 

Klaus laughed and took another step towards her, but this time she didn't growl as he approached. The moon, which was previously partially hidden by the clouds, shined down on them. He could feel the moon pulling at the more animalistic side of him, taunting it to come out and play. To hunt.

 

“The same thing as you: to be free.”

 

It was her turn to smile, full lips pulling back to reveal teeth that were too white and too sharp to be natural. Teeth that ached to rip and shred just as his own. She tilted her head back, hair flowing behind her as she soaked up the power from the moon. He could see the shift was already running up her arms, turning her hands into claws. He wouldn't have much more time before she would become slave to the moon's influence.

 

He took another step forwards but her head snapped back to watch him. “One moon cycle,” she said. “You come back to this clearing, the night before the full moon and I'll have your answer then.”

 

Klaus grit his teeth together. “I told you that I am not a patient man,” he snapped.

 

“But you will learn to be.” She glared back at him. Before he could respond back she dropped onto all fours, a silent scream ripping through her. Her back buckled and convulsed as the shift ran its course through her body, breaking and forming bones, hair sprouting from her tan skin until what stood before him was a tan wolf. Eyes just as red as they were in her human form.

 

“Fine, little wolf, since you have left me with no other option. I will return and when I do, it better be for favorable news.”

 

She huffed as if mocking him, before turning away from him. The wolf tilted it's head back and let loose a howl, one that echoed through the trees. The other wolves joined in, howling with their heads thrown back. When the Alpha had finished she turned to glance back at Klaus one more time before running off into the trees. Her pack rushed to follow after her, wolves dashing from every corner of the woods to run free.

 

When they were all gone, Klaus was left in the clearing alone. He stood there for a second, watching their retreating figures until he could no longer see nor hear any of the wolves.

 

“Are you happy, Niklaus?” Elijah asked when he had finished making his way back down the mountain. He had asked his brother to wait down here on one of the main roads as he went to seek out the cursed wolves. They were known for being territorial and although their notes would do nothing to an Original, Klaus wished to prevent any avoidable complications.

 

“Escactic, brother,” Klaus smirked. “We have one month. In the meantime I wish to prepare.”

 

“Prepare?” Elijah asked as he started the car, driving them away from the mountains that housed the wolves.

 

“Yes,” Klaus smiled. “We're going to need a bigger house.”

 

* * *

  


The two Original brothers shortly arrived back in Mystic Falls, Virginia, the home of the current doppelganger, Elena Gilbert, and an assembly of supernatural beings willing to throw their lives away for the girl.

 

“If it isn't my two dearest brothers,” Rebekah greets them as they enter the house they've decided to reside in for the time being. She sat in the living room, a book and notes in front of her. “I didn't expect you two back so soon.”

 

It had taken weeks to track down the cursed wolves. They were believed to be legend, forgotten history, erased from grimoires and books as all deceased. Truthfully, Klaus did not anticipate actually finding the pack that night, nor did he think he'd have an audience with their Alpha. Fate just be favoring him.

 

“Don't sound so upset at having us back in your hair, dear sister,” Klaus teased as he poured himself a drink. “It turns out I have excellent negotiation skills.”

 

“Negotiation skills?” Rebekah scoffed. “When have you ever done anything without brute force and impulse?”

 

“It seems our brother has finally gotten some sense into his head,” Elijah responds from where he sat in a chair, a book already open before him.

 

“I agree that some things call for a certain… tact. I have been known to show restraint from time to time.”

 

Rebekah rolled her eyes and turned to face both her brothers. “So? Don't leave me in the dark, brothers. What have you found?”

 

Klaus grinned. “Exactly what I left to find. They're real, Rebekah, and they will be joining us shortly.”

 

She gasped. “Is this true, Elijah?” She turned to their older brother for confirmation. Klaus rolled his eyes, but even her mistrust couldn't damper his good mood.

 

“It is as our brother says it is. The legends are true.”

 

“This is cause for a celebration!” Klaus exclaimed.

 

“You know I love parties, Nik, but what are we celebrating? You may have found your wolves, but they are not here.”

 

“We are celebrating the end of our stay in this house, Rebekah. Tell me, where is our wayward brother?”

 

“Kol? He grew bored and left for town,” Rebekah said, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don't remember being responsible for where he goes or does.”

 

He groaned and left his two siblings to grab one of the humans loitering around. They keep a good supply of humans around, some to do their bidding and others as a source for food. “I want you to go around for a house suitable for an army. Find me one that is close to the forest with lots of land,” he compelled the man.

 

“A party, Niklaus?” Elijah asked as he followed after him. “I don't believe gloating is how we gain the obedience of the doppelganger.”

 

Klaus made his way to his room, where he threw open the doors of his wardrobe and began looking through suits. “That's where you're wrong, brother. The party isn't to gloat. I only wish to celebrate to new era.”

 

Elijah frowned, not believing him for a second. Klaus rolled his eyes. “If that is truly how you feel, then I expect you to be on your best behavior then.”

 

“Always,” Klaus turned to flash him a shit eating grin. “Do you mind inviting some of our guests? There's no doubt in my mind that the invitation would be declined if I were the one extending it.”

 

“Very well. While I'm out, I'll check into some estates that might be suitable for us.”

 

He left without another word, leaving Klaus to get ready for the night's festivities.

 

* * *

  


By the time the party was under full swing the sun had set and the moon was high in the sky. Klaus was sprawled across the couch, a glass of bourbon in one hand and a beautiful redhead on his lap. He laughed at something one of his guests said and took a sip of his drink. The moon had a way of making him even hungrier than he usually was.

 

“Sweetheart,” he whispered in the air of the redhead, “be a dear and hold out your arm for me. This will only hurt a second.”

 

She held out her arm like he asked and he gripped her wrist before bringing it to his lips. He could smell the blood flowing underneath her thin skin, could feel the warmth from her blood and he ached. She gasped when his fangs broke the skin, but moaned as the venom courses through her veins. Her blood was tangy and he gulped down mouthfuls before realising her to fall backwards on the couch. Her glossy eyes locked on his and he smirked down at her as her eyes slipped shut and she passed out.

 

“Seems like someone is in a good mood.”

 

“Stefan, old friend,” Klaus greeted as the younger vampire entered the room. He wore a frown on his face, but then again when was he not brooding. Klaus clapped him on the shoulder and moved so their eyes were locked. “Tell me, how is our doppelganger fairing?”

 

“The same as you left her, eager to start her senior year and have you out of her hair. But that's not why you invited us here.”

 

“No, but we will get to that soon enough. Go, relax, _have a drink.”_

 

Stefan rolled his eyes, but complied, approaching another human who was currently dancing. She tilted her neck for him and he sunk his fangs into her skin to drink. If Stefan was here then the others wouldn't be far behind him. He left the drumming music of the dance floor in search of Elena. He found her, practically glued to Damon as they surveyed the party, a frown on both of their faces.

 

“Welcome! How nice of you to finally join us. Please, make yourself comfortable, there are refreshments in the kitchen.”

 

Damon rolled his eyes at him. “Cut the crap. It's not like we had a choice in the matter.”

 

“And they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks,” Klaus teased. “But here you are learning to heel when ordered to.”

 

“Shouldn't I be the one with the dog jokes?” Damon asked, but he did go to the bar and poured himself a drink.

 

Elena rolled her eyes at the both of them and approached Klaus with a rebellious look in her eyes. “Look, the only reason we came is because Elijah asked us to, but if you think for a second that--”

 

“Oh enough, Elena,” Klaus interrupted, waving off whatever she was going to say. He knew the routine by now and had no wish to waste his time rehashing the same threats. “There are no ulterior motives. I already have you and everything else exactly where I want it to be. Tonight is for celebrating.”

 

“What my brother is trying to say, is that you and your friends will come to no harm tonight, Elena,” Elijah said, entering the room and throwing a warning glance at Klaus. He turned to address Elena once again. “Please, enjoy yourself.”

 

She didn't look happy about it but she left them to join her friends. Both Caroline and Bonnie were in attendance as well as some others she might know from school. Klaus had seen his hybrid, Tyler, earlier in the night, but he paid him no mind for the moment. Tonight was about celebrating what was to come.

 

* * *

  


A month was more than enough time to get everything situated. Although Rebekah complained in the beginning, her attitude changed when she saw the manor they would be living in. Elijah had said that it was an old slave plantation that was left empty for years. It was on the edge of town, no neighbors for miles, and the large backyard opened up into a flourishing forest. There was the main house, a large English-style red brick mansion, that sat at the front of the estate. The house itself was impressive, lots of bedrooms, foyers, a library, dining room, and many more. Of course, there were some adjustments: the kitchen was remodeled, Kol had requested for a home theatre and game room to be built, Rebekah wanted her bedroom to have a bigger closet, and other things they would need.

 

Flanking the main house was another house, this one smaller in size, but also containing various rooms. That was where most of the work was put into. Everything was stripped from the old slave quarters but the frame and the house was extended. It would become a home, not a prison. Klaus might be considered evil by some, but he understood the necessity of having someplace welcoming to rest at night.

 

A week before the full moon, Klaus and Elijah travelled back to those mountains. Rebekah and Kol were left with clear instructions to keep the peace while they were away. The last thing he wanted when he arrived with his army was to a crumbling empire. This time instead of a car, Klaus compelled buses to follow along with them. They would need some way to transport the hybrids. He had also brought an assortment of clothes. Wolves have no need for clothing, but by the end of the night, they would be cursed wolves no longer.

 

He made the journey up the mountain alone. By the time he made it to the clearing the wolves had already gathered. He couldn't get an exact count if their numbers, but what he could count made him absolutely giddy. The girl- the Alpha- stood in the clearing as if waiting for him. She was naked again, but he kept his eyes politely above the shoulders. By her feet sat a wolf, grey in color, but it kept its eyes down on the ground.

 

“Hello, little wolf,” he greeted when he was only a meter away from her. “Have you thought about what we last spoke of?”

 

She jerked her head in a quick nod and then pushed the wolf forward. It whined as it fell on the ground, but didn't make an effort to get up. Klaus arched his eyebrow at them and waited for her to find her voice.

 

“You say you can free us from our blood, but first you must prove your power.” She motioned to the wolf again. “He has been sentenced to death, but has volunteered to be turned first. If he survives, he will be pardoned. If not then he shall join our ancestors in death.”

 

The wolf whined as it crawled closer to Klaus, not stopping until he rest by his feet. They were right to be cautious, but Klaus was certain this would be what set them free from their cursed blood. When she inclined her head he knelt, bit his wrist and feed the wolf his blood. Once that was complete he snapped the wolf's neck. It whined before falling limp between them.

 

Some of the other wolves grew restless at his actions, but the Alpha held her hand to shush them. Her eyes roamed over the still form of her companion before locking with Klaus’.

 

“What now?”

 

Klaus smiled. “Now we wait.” He took a step around the wolf, closer to the girl. “My name is Klaus Mikaelson, I am--”

 

“I know all about you,” she interrupted. “There are many stories of your existence. You have ripped apart whole villages out of boredom, torn apart families, and murdered countless innocents.”

 

Klaus smiled and brought his hands together in front of him. “I'm glad that you are aware, but believe me when I say that everything I've done, every life I took, every village I burned to the ground, it was all for a greater purpose.”

 

She didn't respond, only regarded him warily.

 

“If you know so much about myself, then it's only fair that I know something about you in return. A name, perhaps?”

 

At this point they were only feet apart. Even as he towered above her she kept her head held high, eyes locked on his, not backing away from the challenge. His wolf growled at the display, wishing to break free and back the little girl who was only playing at being an Alpha _submit._ She must have saw that in his eyes because hers briefly flashed red before settling back to human green.

 

“You will have to earn that right, Niklaus Mikaelson.”

 

A smile spread across his face before he could stop it. Oh she was a delight. A gasp broke them from their standoff and he turned to face the wolf-- no, now a man, as he laid on the ground, naked, and breathing hard. The girl rushed past him and knelt by the newly turned hybrid. She knelt by him and pulled his face in her hands, flashing her red eyes until red eyes answered back. With his neck extended, Klaus was able to see a scar across his throat. Five jagged claw marks ran the length of one side of his neck and ended just before his collarbone. The wound was closed, but the skin was still red.

 

“Impossible,” she whispered as she took in his appearance. She turned to face Klaus but he paused when he was met with tears in her eyes. Instead of the caution and hostility she usually regarded him with, he now saw something far more vulnerable.

 

“We’re not done yet, love,” Klaus said, kneeling next to them and removing a blood bag full of doppelganger blood from his jacket. The new hybrid jerked his head in Klaus direction, eyes burning red as he watched a bag of blood. “Drink up, mate.”

 

He tore into the bag, gulping down the blood as a man dying. He didn't stop until the bag was empty and he tossed it to the side, threw his head back and howled at the moon. The rest of the packed howled with him and even the Alpha joyed in, her voice seeming louder than the rest as they combined harmoniously.

 

“Alright, then. I have proven that I am able to break your curse. Who's next?” Klaus asked, looking around the clearing.

 

“You misunderstand,” the girl said. “You will turn no one else tonight.”

 

Klaus turned on her, eyes shifting from his anger and reached out to grab her arm. A shock ran up his hand from where they touched, but it wasn't strong enough to dissuade him from his anger.

 

“No, it is you who doesn't understand. This isn't up for discussion, this isn't a choice. I have already granted you more leniency than you deserve.”

 

The girl bared her fangs and lunged at Klaus. This time when his back met the ground, she towered over him, using her arms to hold his shoulders down. Her claws dug into his shoulder blades, pressing him more firmly into the grass below him. Klaus could have easily tossed her aside, but he settled for gripping her neck, squeezing hard enough that if she was anything but a wolf, it would have already snapped.

 

She managed a choked off laugh as she glared down at him. “If you even attempt to touch a member of _my pack_ , I will tear you limb from limb. By the time you're even able to lift a hand we will be long gone. You will _never_ find us again. If it's one things us Demon wolves are good at, it's surviving Niklaus Mikaelson.”

 

“I found you once, sweetheart. There is no place on this earth where you could hide from me!” he roared.

 

She laughed again and slammed his shoulders back on the ground. The air was knocked from his lungs, but he kept his hold on her neck, forcing her to turn her hand at an awkward angle.

 

“That's because I _let_ you find us.” To prove her point, the atmosphere in the clearing changed. The air seemed thicker, heavier, as it surrounded them. Suddenly Klaus could only hear one heartbeat, the whole pack seeming to disappear in an instance. He turned his head to make out any of the wolves, but was unable to, even his newly turned hybrid was no longer where they left him. “You have much to learn before I let you near the rest of my pack. I will go back with you, but my pack stays here for another moon cycle.”

 

Klaus grit his teeth. He should have just forced them to turn when he found them the first time. “Fine,” he snapped, finally pushing her off of him. She rolled for a couple feet before crouching on the ground. Just as quick as they disappeared, the pack was back. “You have yourself a deal.”

 

There must have been some sort of signal, because a black wolf emerged from the woods. He eyed Klaus warily before stopping before his Alpha. She rest her hand on his head and knelt so they were eye level. Her hands curled into his thick fur and she brought her forehead towards his. He didn't know why, but Klaus looked away, as if he was interrupting a private moment between the two.

 

“My second will watch over the pack while I am gone.” She stepped towards the newly turned hybrid and helped him stand. “[Josef](https://www.moviefone.com/celebrity/hugo-ateo/20148572/main/), you will come with us.”

 

After that she turned to face Klaus. “Antoinette.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“My name, it is Antoinette.”

  



	2. Homecoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Antoinette, Josef, and the Mikaelson brothers travel back to Mystic Falls. Stuff happens...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just violence and gore I guess

 

“Klaus? What is this? Where are the wolves?” Elijah asked, emerging from the car parked on the side of the mountain road. His eyes furrowed in what was part-concern and part-confusion. He stopped before he could reach the edge of the road and stared at his brother, who led Antoinette and Josef down the mountain.

 

“Apparently they need two months to hatch,” he drawled, throwing a smirk over his shoulder.

 

Antoinette growled in response, pulling her lips back to flash him her sharp canines.

 

Elijah, ever the gentleman, removed his long coat, holding it out to her as they neared. She eyed it suspiciously, but made no move to grab for it or put it on. “What is that for?”

 

“It's called clothing, little wolf. Where we're going nudity tends to be frowned upon.”

 

“Please,” Elijah offered. He slowly approached her and draped the garment over her slim shoulders. “My name is Elijah Mikaelson. I apologize for any animosity my brother might have shown you.”

 

“Antoinette,” she whispered, wrapping the coat tighter around her body. She inclined her head towards her companion. “Josef.”

 

Elijah nodded and then turned to his brother, eyebrow raised and awaiting answers.

 

“Antoinette here is the Alpha,” Klaus explained. “Herself and Josef will return back to Mystic Falls with us and in a month we shall return for the rest of the wolves.”

 

“I see,” Elijah said, eyes shifting between the two. “There is a blanket in the car for yourself, Josef.”

 

“Lets get on with it then. You have already cost me much of my time.” Klaus moves towards the car and opens the door, motioning for them to get in.

 

“You want us to get into that container?” she huffed, crossing her arms in defiance.

 

“It's a car, little wolf. It is also how we will get to Mystic Falls, unless you prefer to run there?”

 

“Car?” she asked uncertain. She turned to Elijah for an answer, identifying him as probably less of a headache between the brothers.

 

“Yes, I assure you that it'll be perfectly safe, Antoinette.”

 

She frowned but conceded, getting into the car, Josef following after her and placing a blanket around his body. Klaus closed the door after them and smiled at his brother. “See? My negotiation skills are excellent, brother.”

 

“We shall see about that,” he responded before getting in the driver seat and starting the car. Klaus could see both wolves startle at the sound of the engine, but when nothing more happened they visibly relaxed.

 

“Where are we going?” Antoinette asked once they got started on the road. She leaned forward and inserted herself between the two seats to glance at both brothers.

 

“Mystic Falls,” Klaus answered distractedly, he was typing away on his phone with Stefan. While away it was important to keep track of Elena. Ever since finding out her blood was the key to turning more hybrids, Klaus wanted to ensure her survival. Already her track record of keeping herself safe was abysmal. Having his sister move in with the Salvatores and attend their human school were just extra precautions. It seems that this time it was Elena who saved his old friend from wayward spirits.

 

He missed the eye roll Antoinette threw at him, but her growl was loud and clear. He smirked at his phone, but offered no other answer.

 

“And what, may I ask, is in Mystic Falls?” she asked.

 

“Loose ends. Elena, the doppelganger whose blood is needed to turn hybrids, lives there. For the time being we are residing there,” Elijah answers instead.

 

Klaus groans and turns to face them, giving them his full attention after ensuring that Elena was fine and there was no trouble brewing in Mystic Falls without him there.

 

“Oh, go right ahead, brother. Tell a complete stranger all of our secrets. Shall we hash out childhood trauma next?”

 

“Elena's role in our lives is no secret,” Elijah said evenly. “Besides, they will need to become aware of her at some point.”

 

“What else?”

 

“Curious little one, aren't you?” She stared blankly at him, not rising to his bait. “My family is back at Mystic Falls. You will meet them soon enough.”

 

The answer must have sated her curiosity for the moment, because she ceased her questioning and leaned back in her seat. Klaus watched from the rearview mirror as she got settled comfortably and then turned to look out the window. Josef, her packmate sat still next to her. There was a healthy distance between the two and he kept his eyes focused on his lap where his hands were clasped together.

 

Klaus eyes were drawn back to the claw marks on his neck. There was no good way to get a read on how old the wound was; werewolf healing and all that. Even after being turned into a hybrid, the wound made no further attempt to heal itself. The lore on the Demon wolf pack was sparse. It had taken him years to pick out truth from fiction and even then there was much he didn’t know. He didn't know how Antoinette was able to conceal her pack from him in an instance, the action had taken him off guard. But one thing he did know was this: any wound inflicted by the Demon wolf Alpha to their own pack would never heal.

 

* * *

  
  


When they arrived to the manor, Antoinette was fast asleep, face squished against the cool glass window and mouth parted so every breath of warm air fogged in front of her. The long drive must have lulled her into state of peace, and with her guard down,  Klaus was able to see how truly young she looked. It was something in how unguarded she was, without all the snarling and threats. The Demon wolves had a natural werewolf lifespan, but aging was usually began to slow down a bit around the early-20s for their kind. She couldn't have reached that stage yet. Now, with her dark eyelashes resting on her high cheekbones and hair falling around her shoulders, Klaus could see the youthfulness in her features.

 

He was broken from his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder.

 

He turned to look at his brother, a curious look in his eyes. He only rolled his own, knowing that Elijah would have questions for him, but for the time being he would hold off his curiosity until they were alone. “Take Josef and see him settled into a room for the night.” The baby hybrid had not uttered a single word yet, but Klaus did not think that odd. Not even 24 hours ago the man was on death row, a matter he would concern himself with later.

 

Klaus watched the two leave before turning to face the still sleeping Antoinette. He weighed the option of just leaving her to wake alone, but realized he wouldn't want the foreign Alpha to roam free in his territory. It was better to keep an eye on her for the time being. She was still an unknown element.

 

“Little wolf,” he said softly. He leaned so he was halfway in the car and placed a hand on her shoulder. “It's time to wake up.”

 

Her eyes fluttered open and in her drowsiness it took awhile for them to focus and lock on his. A yawn broke out on her face and she groaned while stretching her limbs in the space available. “Where is Josef?” she asked. Her voice was thick with sleep, making her voice deeper and more raspy than usual.

 

“I had Elijah set him up in a room.”

 

She nodded her head and began to slide out of the car after him. “I need to--” she started, but as she stood from the car a wave of dizziness rushed over her and her feet buckled underneath her. Klaus held her up by her waist and he frowned down at her. He could see sweat building on her brow and her face was scrunched in frustration.

 

“What is it?”

 

“It's nothing. It shall pass,” she shrugged it off. Antoinette attempted to maneuver out of his arms, but she wavered on her feet and collapsed against the car door. She squeezed her eyes shut tight and rubbed at her temple.

 

“This isn't nothing.” The fact that she didn't snarl at him when he approached her spoke measures of how ill she really was. Instead she only watched him as he brushed her hair back off her sweaty forehand.

 

“Being away from my pack, my territory, it takes a toll on my body,” she admitted.

 

“You knew this would happen?”

 

“Yes, but it must be done. I have questions.”

 

“No,” he shot her down. “Your questions can wait a few more hours. You need to rest.”

 

She opened her mouth to argue, but Klaus had better things to do than go back and forth with the stubborn girl. He cut off whatever rant she had prepared and bent to quickly pick her up and toss her over his shoulder. She squacked at the action and struggled against his firm hold, but he managed to transport them just outside the manor before setting her down again.

 

The small trip had left her hair ruffled, making her usually untamed waves even wilder as she glared up at him. “Do not treat me as if I were an invalid!” she snapped.

“Maybe if you acted like someone who knew their limits I wouldn't have to,” he reasoned. “There are only a few more hours until sunrise. I will show you where we've arranged for your pack to stay and in the morning I will answer any questions you might have.”

 

“Leave the poor girl alone, Nik.” The door to the manor opened to reveal Rebekah standing right in the foyer. She had a hand on her hip and her eyebrow raised as she surveyed the both of them. “You can't bully everyone you meet.”

 

“My dear sister, Rebekah, yet again sticking her nose where it does not concern her.” He turned to face the smug intruder.

 

She ignored his dig and shouldered her way past him so she was standing in front of Antoinette. Both girls regarded each other with caution and Klaus watched as her eyes roamed over Antoinette's features before humming to herself. She flipped her hair over her shoulder in a carefree manner and cocked her hip to the side.

 

“You must be the Alpha that has been making things quite difficult for my brother. If torturing my brother is one of your hobbies then we will get along swimmingly.” Rebekah gave her a devious smile. “Come along, you must be starving.”

 

At the prospect of food, Antoinette went willingly with Klaus's sister. When they got further into the foyer, Antoinette shook her head and decided to speak up on what was furrowing her eyebrows. “I cannot swim,” she said, frowning at the blonde.

 

Rebekah waved the comment off. “It is only an expression, dear. Kol! Come look what Nik has brought us!”

 

Footsteps preceded their younger brother, who jumped from the top of the stairs and landed right in front of the three of them. When he stood from the crouch it was to move into a bow, hand delicately taking Antoinette’s as he placed a kiss on her knuckles.

 

She jerked her hand back from him and hissed. If Klaus were a caring brother he would have warned him, but honestly he just wanted to see how this played out. Before Kol could lift his head to look at her, she was bringing her elbow down into the back of his head.

 

Kol collapsed with a yelp, hands coming up to rub at his aching head. He groaned but rolled onto his back to throw them a wry smile. “What was that for?!”

 

“Maybe if you weren't so infuriating, people wouldn't have the urge to hit you,” Rebekah offered, shrugging at her brother's apparent misery.

 

“If you value your hands, then refrain from touching me like that again,” Antoinette threatened.

 

“Ouch, you're a feisty one.” Kol rolled on his heels and stood, finally finished with his dramatics. “Alright, love. I apologize for my actions. Let's start anew. I am Kol Mikaelson, the most handsome of the Mikaelson brothers.”

 

“A self proclaimed title,” Klaus corrects. “But enough of that, we were promised food?”

 

“Yes, I arranged for a feast for when we returned,” Elijah appeared out of nowhere, suit jacket discarded and vest half unbuttoned. He appeared from a side door that was attached to the patio deck. He was running a hand through his hair, tousling the brown strands in his wake. “At the time I was expecting an army.”

 

Elijah lift his gaze to glance at the lot of them, eyes stilling on each for a brief time, before ending on Klaus. An unreadable expression passed over Elijah's features and it was in that moment Antoinette spoke up, interrupting what was passing between the brothers.

 

“Yes, you can blame me for the delay. I wished to ensure my pack's safety before I brought them here.”

 

“A fear we hope to alleviate by the next full moon,” Klaus states. His eyes locked with Antoinette’s and she acknowledged his words before following him into the dinning room.

 

Just as Elijah had mentioned, a feast of meat, cheese, and fruit was laid out on a long table. Much was unknown about the Demon wolves, but they figured a meal such as this would suffice for the wolves. Antoinette stopped in her tracks when she caught sight of the display. Her eyes were wide as she took in everything.

 

“You hunted all of this?” she asked, looking at Klaus suspiciously.

 

“No, little wolf,” he chuckled. “When you're not out frolicking in the woods, you'll find that life becomes far easier to live.”

 

She ignored his barb and turned to begin eating. Kol followed her into the room and began pouring himself a glass of wine.

 

“A word, Niklaus,” Elijah beckoned him towards the study, which was soundproof to prevent any listening ears. Klaus rolled his eyes, he could feel his brother's desire to interrogate him since they first descended the mountain. He was surprised that he lasted so long, but all good things must end.

 

“Don't worry, Nik,” Rebekah said. “We shall watch over the girl.”

 

He didn't thank his sister, knowing full well that they would use this time to attempt to get information out of the girl. They could try, but something told him that they would have no luck in the matter.

 

“Very well,” he conceded, leaving to join his brother.

  


“A child, Niklaus?” Elijah had his back towards him, arms outstretched as he leaned against the fireplace, eyes staring blankly at the flame. Klaus couldn't place his tone, but it wasn't exactly happy. “I don't know what I expected, but not this.”

 

“You can't really hold me accountable for the fact that the Alpha of the Demon wolves is a child,” Klaus laughed incredulously.

 

“You didn't know?” Elijah turns to look at his brother.

 

“No, it wasn't until I saw her for the first time did I learn how young she is.”

 

Elijah sighs but takes his response as the truth. “It shouldn't complicate anything. I'm sure there is some way we can find a loophole around the myth surrounding the Alpha power. In the morning I'll have Kol check with his witch connections, if that--”

 

“No,” Klaus states. “The plan continues as is.”

 

“You can't be serious?” Elijah questions. “She is a child, Niklaus. You cannot lead her to her death.”

 

Klaus rolls his eyes at his brother's hypocritical words. “You had no issue with sacrificing Elena when it would mean my death. I see this as no different.”

 

Elijah approached his brother and grabbed hold of his shoulders so Klaus had no choice but look into his eyes. “Things have changed. Allow me to spend the time we have looking for a solution.”

 

“Fine,” Klaus snapped. “You have until the next full moon to find a way to save the girl's life, but if nothing is found then what needs to be done, shall be done. Regardless of how you're feeling at the moment.”

 

“That is all I ask.” Elijah releases his hold on Klaus and takes a step back to run a hand through his hair. “There is something else.”

 

Klaus followed his line of sight to a white envelope that sat on the desk. He could see his family name written in neat, curly handwriting. “Oh,” he asks, opening the card inside of it. “A homecoming party?”

 

“Yes, it seems the invitation was extended to all of us, but with the matter of Antoinette I fear you and Rebekah will have to attend.”

 

Klaus scoffed. “Tell me this doesn't reek of a pathetic attempt at trying to kill one of us.”

 

“Which is exactly why your presence would be perfect as a reminder of what is at stake if they try anything.”

 

Klaus slipped the card back into the envelope and turned to face his brother. “Alright then, but I'm bringing Antoinette with me.”

 

“Do you think that is such a good idea?” Elijah asked. “She knows nothing of the real world, plus introducing her to the enemy would only show them our hand.”

 

“Even if they saw her red eyes, I doubt a single one of them would know what it means. On the other hand, I can't keep her cooped up in this manor forever.”

 

“Fair enough.”

 

After that, Klaus left to go find his siblings and Antoinette. He found them in the living room, Antoinette asleep in a chair, head back and her mouth slightly agape. A blanket was placed on her lap. Rebekah sat in a nearby chair, reading a book idly. As Klaus approached he was able to see the cover of the book, a romance, not surprising.

 

“Where has Kol run off to this time?” Klaus asks, coming up behind his sister.

 

“Dunno, said he was hungry.” She didn't look up from where her eyes rested on the book. “Poor thing must have been exhausted.”

 

“It seems that the distance from her pack weakens her.”

 

“Klaus,” she began. He could already hear it in the tone of her voice, she was unhappy with him, but this time he had yet to do anything warranting the tone.

 

“I've already spoken to Elijah,” he sighs. “If he can find some way to spare her, then I'll allow it.”

 

Rebekah closed her book and smiled up at her brother. “Thank you.” She quickly hugs her brother and brushes a strand of hair out of his face to look at his eyes. “I might not know much about her, but I can tell she's a sweet girl.”

 

Klaus rolls his eyes at his sister's sentiment. It seems all of his siblings were feeling more _human_ today. Well, except for maybe Kol, who isn't much more than the devious little brat he has always been. “Maybe when she's not attacking she can be sweet, but at the moment she is only a means to an end.”

 

Rebekah frowned, but didn't comment on his choice of words. “You have heard about the Homecoming party?”

 

“Yes, I have been informed. I don't know what the doppelganger and her ragtag bunch of friends think they're planning, but I don't expect to make it easy for them. I'll have Tyler move the venue to one more favorable than the high school gym.”

 

“In that case, I will continue to keep an eye on Salvatores.” Rebekah threw one last glance at Antoinette before taking her leave from the manor.

 

“Now, what to do with you?” He approached the sleeping girl. She didn't wake when he said her name and she didn't wake when he nudged her shoulder. Groaning he picked her up in his arms, legs dangling over one arm as he settle her against his chest.

 

He brought her to one of the guest rooms in the main house, not wishing to travel to the pack house since dawn would approach soon. He laid her over the covers and she rolled onto her side, nuzzling further into Elijah’s coat. Klaus spread a blanket from the end of the bed over her and left, retiring to his own room with his own thoughts.

  


* * *

  


In the morning, Klaus could hear Antoinette moving around as she paced the length of the room she slept in. She had yet to leave the room, even though it was becoming well into the afternoon. Kol and Elijah had left earlier in the morning to check out any leads and Rebekah was currently occupied with the Salvatores. He had even seen Josef, briefly, before the quiet man went back to the pack house. Eventually his patience wore out, if she planned to avoid him for the day then she would find herself mistaken.

 

He knocked before swinging the door open and caught Antoinette in mid-turn, she scolded at his abrupt entrance, but offered no words. She was still wearing Elijah's coat and her hair was piled on top of her in a makeshift bun. When he entered the room further she sat on the bed to watch him.

 

“What is it, little wolf? Decided you're going to spend the day up here?”

 

“I don't know how to use any of this,” she admitted without prompting. She motioned towards an open door that led to the attached bathroom. “I also don't have any um--”

 

She trailed off with her words but picked at the coat collar idly as her cheeks redden.

 

“Nothing to be embarrassed about little wolf,” Klaus teases. He walks into the bathroom and turns the knob to run the water. Antoinette watched his movements from the doorway. “When the tub finishes filling with water, just turn the knob the other way. There are washcloths and soap in that cabinet. There should be clothes that can fit you in the wardrobe next to the bed.”

 

With that he left her to get clean for the day.

 

30 minutes later Antoinette descended the stairs, changed into a pair of short overalls and a white tee shirt, but no shoes on her feet. Her hair was down now, loose light brown waves flowing behind her as she made her way into the living room.

 

“What? Did I do this wrong?” Antoinette asks when she saw him looking at her.

 

“No,” Klaus states. He closes the book he was reading and stands. “I was just thinking how normal you look for a feral wolf.”

 

She growled at him, eyes shifting red for a moment. “I could say the same to you, for a psychotic Original at least.”

 

“That's not the first time someone called me ‘psychotic’, sweetheart.”

 

“I doubt it'll be the last time as well.”

 

A smirk broke out on Klaus' face. “Pleasantries aside, there are a couple things we should discuss.”

 

“After food,” she states, crossing her arms over her chest and rising her chin in defiance.

 

“Right this way,” he leads her back into the kitchen where pastries and fruit sat along the island. She went immediately to the fruit, sniffing disdainfully at the pastries.

 

“Where is Josef?” she asks around a mouthful of ripe mango. She shifted a lone claw and used it to peel the fruit before eating it.

 

“Last I checked he was still in the pack house,” he answers. He points to a house that could be seen from the kitchen window. She nods at the information and swallows a bite of food. “Now my turn for a question. Why was he sentenced to death?”

 

Antoinette paused with the mango halfway to her mouth and frowned down at the food. She chewed on the inside of her cheek before meeting his eyes again. “Because his crime warranted his death.”

 

Klaus rolled his eyes at her vague response. He didn't think she would tell him why, at least not now, so he let the non-answer slide.

 

When she was done with the mango she grabbed an apple, this time biting into it with a loud crunch of her teeth. “Tell me about your curse.”

 

“I thought you said you knew all about me.” She gave him a flat look and he chuckled at her annoyance. “I was cursed by my mother who hated who I was and then I wasn't. Of course it wasn't that easy, there was an elaborate sacrifice that required the blood of a doppelganger among other things.”

 

“Elena? That's the name Elijah called the doppelganger.”

 

Klaus nodded in response. “The trick you did in the forest: concealing your packs’ presence from me, how was that possible?”

 

Antoinette, apparently finished eating after moving on to different fruit, leans back in her chair. “Nature protects the Demon wolves. I don't know how to explain it or how it came to be, but when I call, nature responds.”

 

“Can you do it now?”

 

She shook her head, hair falling down around her. “No, the power requires nature to accept me before I am able to call upon it.” He wished to ask more about the matter, but he could tell her willingness to explain the topic was diminishing. “You're building an army, why?”

 

Klaus laughs. “I have a lot of enemies, little wolf, it is better to prepare against all who wish to see me fall.”

 

She stared into his eyes, but frowned when he didn't continue. He wasn't willing to tell her the whole truth, but the fact that he wanted an army to use against his enemies was a good starting point.

 

“A final question for the moment: how are you able to speak so clearly but Josef hasn't uttered a single word yet?”

 

Antoinette shrugged and fiddled with a strand of her hair. “It's probably because his vocal chords were ripped apart. I'm sure once the rest of my pack turns they'll be capable of speech after some practice. For myself, well my mother was the Alpha before me and she's the one who taught me how to speak.”

 

This was the first time Antoinette mentioned her previous Alpha, her mother. There was a stiffness in her eyes, but she stood from the island before he could ponder more about what he saw.

 

“Well then. I assume you have more planned for the day?” She inclined an eyebrow at him.

 

“How do you feel about accompanying me to a Homecoming dance?”

 

“Depends on what exactly that is.”

 

“Just think of it as a primitive gathering of people who wish to enjoy alcohol and music,” Klaus smirks.

 

“Music?” her eyes lit up at the mention of music and a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

 

“Oh, so you know about music, but not how to use a bathtub?”

 

“Bathtubs weren't a luxury we had in the forest, Niklaus. Sometimes I could hear music from the cars driving on the mountain roads,” she explained. “Even wolves understand the beauty in music.”

 

“Yes, because howling at the moon is your idea of a harmonious song.”

 

“Exactly.” Klaus smiled as she missed the sarcasm in his voice and not seen the insult as it was. “Will the doppelganger be there tonight?”

 

“Yes, why?”

 

“Well, she's needed in order to turn hybrids. I'm only curious.”

 

“You know what they say about curiosity, little wolf.”

 

She frowned at him. “No, I cannot say that I actually do.” She began walking to a door that led out to the backyard. “I wish to check out the territory, but when it is time to get ready come find me.”

 

Klaus watched as she walked towards the pack house, long strides bringing her closer to her destination. He was surprised at how civil the conversation went, but then again they weren't threatening each other at the time being.

 

 

 

* * *

  
  


Caroline was freaking out, even when she was trying not to. Tonight had to go perfect, not just because it was the Homecoming dance that she spent _hours_ working on, but because tonight they would finally be rid of Niklaus Mikaelson. The bane of her friends’ existence as well as a thorn in her side. They already had one slip up, which was Rebekah finding out about their plan, but Elena had her daggered for the time being. If there was any chance of Klaus finding out what they had planned then they were all dead.

 

The party had already one hiccup: the gym was flooded, but thankfully Tyler was nice enough to allow them to use the Lockwood mansion, sire bond aside. She hated that they were lying to him, but it was the only option. He was unpredictable in this state.

 

In record time they were able to get the Lockwood estate ready. The first guests had already arrived and the party was starting. Now they just had to wait, something Caroline hated, but had no control over.

 

“Nice party, Blondie,” Damon says, appearing next to her. He plucks a glass of champagne off of one of the trays being carried around by waiters and sips it.

 

“Oh, piss off Damon. I don't need you making me more stressed than I am now.” She tucks a curl behind her ear and continues to survey the guests.

 

“Just making simple conversation. I figured it would take your mind off of tonight.”

 

“Thanks, but I don't need your help with that. You're here as the muscle, which means that there's no need for you to speak.”

 

“Ouch, Care Bear,” he places a hand on his chest and staggers back a step. “Speak of the devil.”

 

She turns to follow his line of sight to the front door, which opened to reveal Klaus in a dark suit with a grey shirt. He wore a smug on his face, the asshole. Caroline groaned and turned, ready to leave now that she knew Klaus had actually arrived.

 

“Whoa,” Damon whistled, “and who is that?”

 

Caroline turned to see a girl with Klaus. She was shorter than him, brown skin, and long brown hair woven into a single braid down the length of her back. She wore a sleeveless red lace A-line princess [dress](https://www.lalamira.com/A-Line-Princess-Scoop-Neck-Short-Mini-Homecoming-Dresses-With-Lace-Bow-S-022216224-g216224/?utm_term=216224&utm_size=06&ggsub=pl&ggntk=s&ggcid=282139930773&ggkey=&ggpos=1o8&ggdev=t&ggdevm=&ggplm=&ggtgt=&gclid=CjwKCAjwndvlBRANEiwABrR32PMqIgDihIa0-6su7fJ7yk2gcU3mFmajUUFapMyN3vkgNgnZaNMhQxoCVHcQAvD_BwE) that ended right above her knees. The dress was finish off with a bow made of lace tied to the back. She didn't look familiar, Caroline had never seen her before in school and she held no resemblance to the Original.

 

“She's kinda hot,” Damon concludes.

 

“And barefoot,” Caroline observes. She frowns at this piece of information. “She might be one of his hybrids.”

 

“No, she wasn't invited in.”

 

Caroline frowns even more at that.

 

“Weird,” Damon drawls. “Okay, new plan. You handle the girl. I'll handle Klaus.”

 

Before she could agree Damon disappeared just as quick as he appeared. Caroline huffed in annoyance, but made her way over to the two of them.

 

“Klaus, how nice of you to join us,” she plasters a smile on her face as she greets them.

 

“Well I couldn't decline such an invitation.”

 

“Hmm,” she says. “So, who is your date?”

 

Said date turns away from where she was watching the party with wide eyes. She focuses her green eyes on Caroline instead.

 

“This is Antoinette, old family friend,” he introduces. Antoinette frowns at him, but doesn't offer an alternate explanation. “Actually, Antoinette is new to town and hasn't been able to make any friends yet. I couldn't think of a better person to help with that than you.”

 

He places a hand on her shoulder and motions her toward Caroline. “This is Miss Caroline Forbes. I think you two will get along quite well.”

 

Caroline rolled her eyes at him. If she wasn't planning on distracting the girl in the first place she would have told him that she wasn't one of his servants he could order around. Instead she took a deep breath and led Antoinette into the mansion.

 

“Gosh, he's such an ass,” Caroline grumbles when they're further away and sitting at the makeshift bar.

 

“It seems that we share a common dislike of the man,” Antoinette notes. There's a hint of a smile on her face, but it vanishes as she turns to face Caroline. “Maybe that it why he believed we would get along.”

 

“Trust me, you won't find any shortage of people who hate him here.” Caroline flags down a bartender and orders them both two shots each. She quickly throws one back before pushing the others toward Antoinette. “If you dislike him so much then why are you here with him?”

 

Antoinette picks up one of her shot glasses and sniffs at the liquid. She takes a hesitate sip of it and coughs as she swallows the liquid. “What is that godful drink?”

 

Caroline giggles at the display. “It's called alcohol. Most people can't take it straight up. Here chase it with this.” She hands her a cup full of soda. Antoinette tries again and this time is able to finish off her shot without issue. “You've never had any before?”

 

“No,” she responds. “And I'm here with Klaus out of necessity not want.”

 

“Well, here's to the douchebag older men in our lives we can't seem to get rid of.” She lift her other shot to toast with, but Antoinette just frowned at the action. “Like this, we're supposed to put our glasses together like this and then drink them.”

 

She places the second shot in Antoinette’s hand and brings their glasses together before downing the shot. Antoinette follows suit, but drinks more of the soda as a chaser.

 

“What was the point of that?” she asked after setting her glass down.

 

“Comradery,” Caroline explains easily. A grin spreads across her face at the confused look Antoinette gives her. “Plus it's a quick and easy way to get people to drink more.”

 

Caroline orders them two more shots each and they throw them both back, Antoinette chasing hers down with the soda.

 

“Klaus said there would be music here,” Antoinette states. “Where is it?”

 

“Outside, we have a live band playing. Come on, I'll show you.”

 

They stood up from the bar and Antoinette wavers on her feet momentarily before grabbing onto the bar top to steady herself. “Whoa,” she exhaled. “I feel--”

 

“Probably a little drunk,” Caroline explains, watching her. The drinks were a test. A werewolf would metabolize the alcohol too quickly that four shots would hardly do anything to impair their judgement. That only left two options: human or witch. And if she was a human, then how much of the supernatural did she know about? “Here, if you didn't like the shots, try this.”

 

She grabs them both glasses of champagne from a passing waiter as they make their way towards the backyard. She hands one to Antoinette who immediately takes a sip. “Fizzy,” she notes, but doesnt try to spit it out like with the shots.

 

The music gets louder as they approach the backyard where tables and tents have been set up as well as a makeshift dance floor. Some couples lounged around while others danced to the music of the live band, _My Morning Jacket_. Antoinette stared in awe at the band and the people.

 

“What are they doing?” she asks, turning her green eyes toward Caroline.

 

“Who? The people dancing?” Caroline motions at the partygoers. “Have you never seen people dancing before, Antoinette?”

 

Antoinette purses her lips, but shakes her head. The alcohol was one thing, but not knowing about dancing… Caroline didn't know what to make of the girl, other than the fact that she had terrible taste in friends (Klaus). But then again the whole plot of Footloose was that dancing was illegal and Klaus did say she was out of town. Her accent was foreign, so maybe she could have been from out of the country as well.

 

“What do they dance for?” she asks, eyes trained on the moving bodies.

 

“For fun,” Caroline explains. “Parties are all about having fun. People dance, sing, drink, talk, all so they can have fun with each other.”

 

“Fun…” she says the word slowly, as if tasting it out on her tongue for the first time.

 

Caroline was just about to ask her if she wanted to dance, but was interrupted by Tyler who grabbed her arm and swung her around to face him. “Whatever you guys have planned, it needs to stop,” he begins. “Klaus said--”

 

He must have caught sight of Antoinette behind her cause he immediately stops and stares at her.  “Who is this?”

 

“Antoinette,” she begins to say coming so she's standing next to Caroline and not behind her.

 

“She's Klaus’ date,” Caroline quickly explains. “Antoinette, this is my boyfriend, Tyler Lockwood.”

 

Tyler frowns at Antoinette and doesn't say a word. “We need to talk, Caroline.”

 

“Sheesh, alright, just give me a second, okay?” She turns back to Antoinette who watched them with her own frown. “I will be right back, alright? Just wait for me out here and I'll come and find you.”

 

She directs Antoinette to one of the empty tables before following Tyler back into the house.

  


* * *

  


They were planning something, Klaus was sure of it. After cornering Elena, his suspicions were only confirmed. Rebekah had yet to show, even though her date, Matt Donovan, had arrived, with the doppelganger no less. Whatever trouble his sister got herself into would have to wait for the time being. He stationed Josef outside the mansion and had other compelled vampires hanging around just in case. It always helped to have collateral damage when dealing with the lot of them.

 

Klaus had just began to search for Antoinette when he was approached by one of the women he had compelled earlier.

 

“There is someone at the door who would like to see you,” she states.

 

He doesn't stop in his strides, too busy following the sound of Antoinette’s too fast beating heart outside. “Who?”

 

“A man by the name of Mikael.”

 

That stops him cold in his tracks. He could feel his blood begin to boil in anger. This was their grand scheme?! They couldn't kill him themselves so they've awoken Mikael, The Destroyer. Klaus turns his furious eyes on the woman. “Well, let's not keep him waiting.”

 

Klaus follows the woman to the front of the house, but she stops short just before getting to the entrance. He walks the rest of the way there to stand face to face with his father for the first time in centuries.  

 

Mikael stands at the doorway, dark blonde hair cropped short and a smug look on his face. “Hello Niklaus.”

 

“Hello Michael. Why don't you come in? Oh that's right, I forgot you can't.”

 

“Or you can come outside if you want.”

 

“Or I can watch as you're torn limb from limb,” Klaus states. He watches Josef and the other vampires approach Mikael from behind, leaving where Klaus had stationed them earlier. “It'll make hell of party game. All I have to do is rub these two fingers together.”

 

He lifts his hand to show him how he could easily snap his fingers and have Mikael attacked.

 

“A Big Bad Wolf,” Mikael observes. “You haven't changed. Still hiding behind your playthings like a coward. But don't forget, your not the only one who is able to control supernaturals.”

 

A vampire enters the doorway, holding a bound Elena. Klaus immediately takes a step forward but hesitates.  He knows Mikael would only come if he had the means to kill him, the only thing on this Earth that could kill an Original: the White Oak Stake. Just because he hadn't revealed it yet, didn't mean it wasn't near. Klaus wouldn't be so foolish to rush out to his death.  

 

“Come out and face me, Niklaus, or the girl dies,” Mikael threatens.

 

“Go ahead, kill her,” Klaus states, eyes locked on his father.

 

“No, Klaus, he'll do it,” Elena pleads, attempting to get away from Mikaels hold, but unable to.

 

“If she dies, you will never be able to make any more hybrids,” his father states.

 

“I don't need hybrids, I just need you dead.” For all his life, his father has always hunted him. With Mikael dead and gone he could finally be free from his torment.

 

“For what end? So you won't be alone anymore, boy?!”

 

“I'm calling your bluff, father. Kill her.”

 

“Come outside and face me you little coward.”

 

“My whole life you've underestimated me. If you kill her then you lose your leverage.” Klaus takes a step closer to the threshold and smirks at them. “So go ahead. Go on kill her. Come on, old man! KILL HER!”

 

Mikael chuckles at his outburst. “Your impulse, Niklaus, it has and will always be the one thing that keeps you from truly being great.”

 

In an instant Elena is stabbed by Mikael, Her eyes lock with Klaus as she gasps out in pain, but she is discarded to the side in the next moment.

 

“NOOO!!!” Klaus roars. He starts towards them, but a sound has him turning just in time to see Damon running at him with a White Oak Stake. The stake stabs through his stomach, and he grunts at the pain.

 

“No,” another voice screams. Antoinette appears out of nowhere and grabs a hold of Damon. Her eyes are wild and her claws dig into his shoulders, drawing blood as she attempts to pull Damon’s hand away from the stake.

 

“What the hell?” Damon curses. He shoots a glass over his shoulder, but freezes when he locks onto Antoinette’s red eyes. The hesitation is enough for Antoinette to swing him away, tearing the stake out of his gut in the process.

 

Klaus collapses on the ground, hand coming up to stop the blood flow of the wound. The White Oak Stake is lethal to an Original, but luckily Damon had missed his heart. In the next instant Damon leaps at Klaus again, he raises the stake above his head, ready to drive it into Klaus’ heart, but Antoinette grabs a hold of the arm with the stake.

 

Damon grits his teeth and throws an elbow back wildly, it connects with Antoinette’s nose and Klaus is sure he would still be able to hear the impact without his super hearing. The girl falls back in a heap, unconscious. Klaus attempts to hold Damon at bay, heart beating erratically, but I'm the next second Stefan tackles Damon off of him, knocking the White Oak Stake out of his hand in the process.

 

“What the hell are you doing?!” Damon curses at his brother.

 

Klaus ceases the discarded stake and moves towards his father. Mikael's eyes widen in shock as Klaus stakes him through the heart, letting him feel every ounce of his hatred for him. “Don't look so surprised, father. This way you can finally be rid of me.”

 

Klaus releases his father as he drops to the floor and bursts into flames, skin turning grey as the stake corrodes him from the inside out.

 

“Stefan!” Damon yells at his brother, who continues to hold him down on the ground. “Do you know what you just did?”

 

“Of course he does.” Klaus comes back into the room to address the brothers. “He's earned his freedom.”

 

Stefan stands from his brother and moves towards Klaus.

 

“Thank you, my friend. You no longer have to do what I say, you are free,” Klaus states, effectively releasing Stefan from his compulsion. The weight practically drops off the younger vampire's shoulders.  

 

Mikael was dead, Klaus could finally be truly free from the restraints his parents have placed on him. For centuries he had looked over his shoulder in fear of being cut down by that man. How many times did Mikael stir his paranoia and force him out of whatever place he might have settled for a while.

 

The Salvatores brothers had fled quickly after that, but Klaus would worry about disciplining the elder Salvatore later. At the moment, his worry was on Antoinette who had yet to stir awake. She lie on the ground, blood trickling from her nose, but after a quick check from Klaus confirmed that the break had already healed perfectly. He supported her head as he picked her up in his arms, carrying her out to the far.

 

“Get the door,” he instructs of Josef. He lies the girl down in the back of the seat. Her head rolls to the side with the motion, revealing the length of her neck. This close Klaus can smell the earthy tones to her blood, the one that contain traces of bergamot citrus and something he had yet to identify. The blood loss had made him hungry, but he had centuries controlling his urges.

 

When they got back to the estate, Antoinette only began to stir as he carried her inside. Her green eyes opened slowly and she looked around disoriented before looking up at him.

 

“You're alive,” she mumbled.

 

Klaus smirked down at her. “No thanks to you, little wolf. I thought I was the damsel in distress.”

 

She huffed. “I saved your life.”

 

“How do you know, you were knocked unconscious.”

 

“You're still breathing.”

 

“Fair enough.” By now they had entered the manor. Klaus brought her back to the room she slept in the night before. He put her down on her feet when they got close enough to the bed that she could use it to rest against if need be. She held onto his hands to steady herself before letting go to push away fly away strands of hair. “You did save my life tonight, Antoinette. Why?”

 

“It's simple,” she said, looking him straight in the eyes. “If you die then so does any chance at breaking my pack's curse.”

 

She steps back and walks toward the was done opening the doors and surveying the contents inside. “Although, I figured the notorious Niklaus Mikaelson would be a tad harder to kill. First day back and you almost got yourself stabbed with a White Oak Stake.”

 

“And how do you know about the White Oak Stake?” He asks. The existence of the stake was one of his best kept secrets. Of course if everyone knew about it they would all flounder around to get their hands on a piece of the wood.

 

“The same way I know other things about you,” she replies cryptically. She walks into the bathroom with a nightgown and closes the door.

 

“Care to explain?” He knows she'd be able to hear him through the walls separating them.

 

“The Alpha’s job is to know all things necessary to protect the pack. That includes possible threats.” She emerges from the bathroom, hair free from its braid and party dress exchanged for a simple cotton nightgown. “Which means that tomorrow we leave to receive the rest of my pack.”

 

Klaus raises an eyebrow and takes a step towards her. “What happened to waiting for the full moon?”

 

“Waiting is useless if you're dead. It seems you are incapable of keeping yourself alive.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The girl in the dress picture isn't Antoinette btw


	3. The Soul of the Pack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys are back in town

It is the black wolf, the one Antoinette identified as her second-in-command, who steps out of the forest trees first. His red eyes swiveled between the three of them but he walks to Antoinette, stopping to rest on his back legs once he reaches her. She places a hand on his head and lifts her eyes to address the rest of her pack. 

 

“Tonight we shall travel as a pack to Mystic Falls. We will no longer be bound by our curse, but salvation comes with a price.” She removes her hand from the black wolf and turns to face Klaus. “Loyalty to the Original, Niklaus Mikaelson. Are you willing to pay the price?”

 

The response was in the form of the unanimous howling of the wolves. When each wolf had given their assent, Antoinette threw her own head back to join in on the howling. The sound stirred something hidden deep inside of Klaus, but he stomped down the unnamed feeling.

 

“I want you to turn Saul first.” Antoinette instructs. The black wolf stood from his position and walked towards Klaus. He bared his teeth at Klaus before letting his tongue flop out to the side in a wolfish grin.

 

Up close Klaus is able to see that what he previously thought was black fur, was really just dark brown in color. Klaus bites his wrist and feeds the blood to the wolf. Blood drips off the dark muzzle of the wolf, before Klaus snaps his neck. He picks the limp wolf off of the ground and throws him over his shoulder. 

 

“Come on, little wolf. He'll wake in the car.” 

 

Klaus led them down the mountain to where he had a bus waiting for the other wolves. He laid Saul in the back of the car that he and Antoinette would travel in while Antoinette guided the hesitate wolves into the bus. She explained to them that the bus was the easiest way to transport them all to Mystic Falls. They all calmed at the words from their Alpha.

 

“They will wish to run in the forest when they get back,” Antoinette informs him when she enters the car, sliding into the passenger seat. Klaus starts the car and pulls away, looking as the bus follows behind him. “How much longer until Saul wakes?” 

 

“It shouldn't be much longer, little wolf, based off of how quickly Josef turned,” Klaus says. He leans over to the glove compartment and pulls out a bag of doppelganger blood. “He will need this when he wakes.”

 

Antoinette takes the bag and throws a look over her shoulder to look at the still form of the black wolf. 

 

“Are you two close?” Klaus asks casually enough. 

 

“Close?” she asks, eyebrows borrowing in confusion at the term. 

 

“You obviously care for him; Saul.”

 

Antoinette nods her head. She brings her knees up to her chest so she's able to rest her chin on top of them as she looks out the window. “I picked Saul to be my second when I was young. Since that day, we've trained together to one day lead the pack.” 

 

“You picked him?” He asks. He was mostly fishing for information, but another part of him, felt odd at her words. 

 

“Yes, every Alpha picks their own second, to ensure that they would be able to work together to protect the pack. When the Alpha is gone, the second leads in their absence.”

 

When she was done speaking a gasp from the back seat pulled their attention away from the conversation at hand. Saul sat up in his seat, bare chest rising and falling as he took in his new form. Instead of the dark brown wolf sat a young man, probably in his mid-20s with messy short dark brown hair, sharp cheekbones, tan skin, and lean shoulders.

 

“Saul,” Antoinette said, sitting backwards in her chair. “You're fine. Everything is alright.” 

 

Her hand went out to steady his shaking ones. His brown eyes locked onto hers and he visibly relaxed, taking in deep gulps of air to get his breathing under control. He opened his mouth to speak, but only a painful croak came out, forcing him to cough. 

 

“Talking will be hard,” she states, “but we will get there. For now, drink this. It'll make you feel better.”

 

She hands Saul the bag of blood and he quickly rips into it. Blood trickles down his chin but he pays it no mind as he finishes it off. When he's done with the blood his eyes burn red, black veins sprouting from the edges of it. 

 

“Ant--” [Saul ](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4026778/&sa=D&ust=1556588948549000&usg=AFQjCNFDsl_f4Xo-qT5qQcK-IKxYGqgM8g)cracked out before devolving into another fit of coughs. “Antoinette.” 

 

Antoinette beamed at her friend. “Yes. Here, this will keep you warm.” She hands him a blanket and spreads it over his lap. “When we get to the manor, you'll be given clothes to wear.” She pulls at her own sweater collar to signify what she means. Klaus noted how she spoke to the man, but said nothing.

 

Eventually his brown eyes locked onto Klaus’ in the rearview mirror. Saul’s eyes widened in anger at the presence of Klaus. His eyes and mouth shifted into their hybrid features and he lunged with claws. To his astonishment, Antoinette moved in front of him, almost risking a claw to the neck. She roared down at Saul, slamming him into the car door. At this point she was mostly out of her seat, leaning over the middle console. Saul bared his neck and released the shift, turning completely human. 

 

Klaus kept control of the car during the whole encounter. He kept his eyes locked on Selah's through the rearview mirror, until Saul lowered his eyes in submission. 

 

“Stop this,” Antoinette ordered. She shoved Saul’s shoulders back one last time before releasing him. “I can handle my own battles, Saul.” 

 

“Get over whatever issue you might have with me, mate,” Klaus states. “We have a bigger problem at hand.”

 

“What?” Antoinette asks, turning to face him. 

 

“It seems Stefan has taken off with something I value. There is also the issue of Rebekah, who hasn't been answering my phone calls.” 

 

“What did he take?”

 

“All in due time, little wolf. When we get back to Mystic Falls we’ll have to move quickly. There’s a certain vampire who should be day drinking by the time we arrive.”

 

* * *

 

The first thing Klaus did when they returned to the manor was to turn the rest of the wolves, except for Antoinette, who declined the offer. Saul stood off to the side, arms crossed over his chest and scowl on his face as he watched Klaus make his way through the wolves. When Klaus was done with the last of the wolves he stood and faced Antoinette.

 

“When this lot wakes, you’re going to need the blood I keep in the kitchen fridge,” Klaus informs her. “Have them drink from it to complete the change, but beware, they might be feeling a little more… rowdier than usual.”

 

“I can handle my pack,” she replies. Her eyes sweep over the still forms of the wolves and she frowns. “Where are you going?” 

 

Klaus stops walking towards his car and turns to look back at the girl. “I told you, to go see a certain vampire. You met him the other night. The one who tried to drive a stake into my heart? That's Damon Salvatore and until I can get my hands on Stefan, he is the next best thing.”

 

“No,” Saul states. He stood in Klaus’ path, but his eyes were locked on Antoinette. “I go with.”

 

Klaus scoffs. “You? Just a moment ago you were trying to rip out my throat, mate.”

 

“It's because he believed he was protecting me,” Antoinette explains. “But now he knows better than to attack you, especially since it is not what the pack needs.” She throws him a warning look, but Saul only smiles in response. “Take him with you, Niklaus. You might need the extra protection.” 

 

“Careful, sweetheart,” Klaus replies. Antoinette shrugs back at him, and turns to look over her pack. Klaus motions for Saul to follow him and they head towards the Grill. 

 

“Let's make one thing clear,” Klaus starts after they've parked and began walking to the front entrance. He turns to stop in front of Saul so he's forced to look straight at him. Standing, Klaus and Saul are about the same height, but he takes a step forward and uses every ounce of authority in his voice. “Antoinette may be your Alpha, but I am your  _ sire _ . Raise a claw against me again and I'll have you rip out your own throat,  _ friend _ .” 

 

“Asshole,” Saul manages to get out, even though the word comes out weirdly Klaus is still able to hear the clear insult in his words. 

 

“Good,” Klaus grins. “It seems we have an understanding then.”

 

They enter the bar and Klaus immediately picks out where Damon and Elena are off flirting to the side. He walks over to the two and interrupts whatever moment they were having. 

 

“Don't mind me,” Klaus grabs their attention while flagging down a bartender for a drink. 

 

“Klaus,” Elena breathed out, spinning around to face him. 

 

“You gonna do this in the Grill? In front of everyone?” Damon asks incredulously, motioning towards the other patrons in the room. “It's a little beneath you, don't you think?” 

 

Klaus shrugs and shots back his drink. “I don't know what you are talking about. I just came down to my local pub to grab a drink with a mate.” He motions to where Saul stands next to him, but the baby hybrid is too busy looking around at what's going on instead of the conversation at hand.

 

“Another one of your weird supernaturals you like to keep around?” Elena asks, crossing her arms. “I know all about the brunette with red eyes you keep around.”

 

At mention of his Alpha, Saul turns to face the two. He quickly takes a step forward eyes and mouth shifting to attack, but Klaus puts out a hand to halt his movements. He smiles back at the shocked expressions on both Damon and Elena. 

 

“Antoinette?” Saul asks, turning to Klaus for confirmation. Klaus nods and removes his hand when Saul makes no further move to attack them. 

“On the contrary, this one is a hybrid. Elena, Damon, this is Saul,” Klaus introduces. “Be a dear and order us a round.” He passes Saul a couple bills and sends him off to the bar with easy instructions. 

 

Damon, ever the smartass, recovers from his shock first. “I'm surprised you stuck around town long enough for happy hour.”

 

“My sister seems to be missing. Need to sort that out.” 

 

“Cute blonde, bombshell, psycho? Shouldn't be too hard to find.”

 

“Truth is,” Klaus begins once Saul has returned with a tray of drinks, “I've grown to rather like your little town. Think I might fancy a home here. Oh I imagine you're wondering how does this affect you. The answer is: not in the slightest. As long as I get what I want and everyone behaves themselves you can go on living your little lives however you choose. You have my word.”

 

“What more could you possibly want?” Elena asks.

 

“Well, for starters, you can tell me where I might find Stefan.”

 

“Stefan skipped town the second he saved your ass,” Damon shrugs, taking one of the shots off the tray and throwing it back after a sniff.

 

“Well, you see that is a shame,” Klaus sighs and picks up one of the darts that were left unattended when he arrived. He spins it in his hand for a few moments before throwing it, landing at a perfect bulls-eye. “Your brother stole from me. I need him found so I can take back what's mine.”

 

“That doesn't sound like our problem,” Elena points out.

 

Klaus takes a step towards her, but stops when Damon moves between him. At this he only smirks at Damon’s attempt at being heroic. 

 

“Ha, well this is me broadening the scope, sweetheart.” He winks at Elena from over Damon’s shoulders and then turns to leave with Saul following behind him. “And keep the drinks, you're going to need them.” 

 

* * *

  
  
  


When they arrived back at the manor, all of the new hybrids had successfully turned. This just meant Klaus had a bunch of half-naked hybrids running around his backyard. Saul disappeared quickly into the numbers when they arrived, but as Klaus approached they all watched him with wide eyes.

 

“Where is your Alpha?” Klaus asked a random man. He turned and pointed to a cluster of hybrids who sat around in a circle, watching two young tots wrestle around in the soft grass. He was surprised to see everyone mostly dressed, even the tots. It would do well for the neighbors not to think he was hosting a wilderness nudist community. Antoinette sat in the mix, a grinning Saul rooted next to her. 

 

“Klaus,” she greeted when he was close enough to them. She stood, attracting the attention of the wolves gathered around them, parents picking up their child to keep them steady. The wolves surrounding them bowed their heads at him briefly as he approached. “They bow their heads in gratitude, because of you, my pack no longer has to suffer.”

 

“Yes, but let's not pretend that it was out of the kindness of my heart.”

 

“No, it is no secret that Niklaus Mikaelson is without a heart. What is it, you seem… tense?” 

 

Klaus shrugs. “No more than usual, little wolf, but there is a matter I need to discuss with you.” 

 

She nodded and moved away from the crowd, who went back to begin their earlier activities. Saul quickly jumped up and followed after them. “And me?”

 

“Actually I would need the both of you,” Klaus said. He would take Antoinette with him, but Saul would be used to send a message.

 

“No,” Antoinette shot down. “When the Alpha is gone, the second must stay.”

 

Klaus rolled his eyes at the words. Appeasing the girl was becoming more and more difficult. “Fine, then we're going to need someone else.”

 

“Saul, I need you to stay and make sure that everyone is adjusting well. Some have already settled into the pack house, but have Josef organize the rest of them.” She leaned in closer to the man and lowered her voice so evade off wandering ears, but Klaus was standing close enough to hear. “Make sure you watch him closely. Food will be brought in to eat afterwards.” 

 

One if the things Antoinette wanted to ensure when she brought her pack is that there would be more than enough food to feed them all. With the change in location and of their bodies, they would be left hungry and shaken. Getting them settled faster benefited all of them. 

 

Saul left to complete his tasks.

 

“Tony,” Antoinette called, bringing a different wolf over to them. This one was dressed in a leather jacket and jeans with brown hair and blue eyes. “Follow us.” 

 

The three of them walked into the manor and Klaus explained to Tony what he wanted him to do. After that was done, Klaus was able to speak to Antoinette for the first time without someone else nearby to overhear.

 

“What did Stefan take from you that's so important?” she asks. Klaus should have known the curious little wolf would use the opportunity to get answers to her earlier questions. 

 

“It's not a what, little wolf, it's who. My family.”

 

“Stefan stole your family?” 

 

“Yes, and we're going to pay his brother a little visit.” 

 

In the car, Klaus explains to her the situation. How he knew about Stefan betrayal, how Rebekah still wasn't answering his calls, making him suspicious about what might have actually happened to her. Even on her most willful days she still has enough sense to respond to his calls. 

 

Klaus led Antoinette into the Salvatore mansion. He could hear music playing from the living room as they entered and Damon was just pouring himself a drink. 

 

“Be a dear and pour us both one.” Damon turned to glare at him, but he paused when he caught sight of Antoinette. “I think it's about time we had a drink, don't you?” 

  
“I'd say we're overdue.” Damon said as he sipped his drink. 

  
“Well, you've been so busy with all your plotting and scheming.” 

  
Damon shrugged. “You know me. Never miss a chance to plan an epic failure.”

  
“Don't be so hard on yourself. Who could have guessed your own brother would betray you?” 

  
“That's the thing with younger siblings. You just never know what they're gonna do.” He poured two more drinks and held one out to Antoinette. “Drink?”

 

She walked over to the vampire and took the drink with a nod before leaning against the bar top. 

 

“Antoinette, was it?” Damon asked. “We haven't had the time to properly met.”

 

“Our initial introduction was delayed while you were stabbing Niklaus through the stomach.”  

 

“Although I would say I'm fairly familiar with your claws.”

 

Antoinette huffs and lifts a hand to extend her claws, long fingers shifting into sharp nails built to rip through prey. “It's a good thing that they remember you as well then.”

 

Klaus comes over to the two and grabs his own drink. He sniffs the glass before lifting his and tilting it towards Damon. “Cheers mate!”    
  


“Down the hatch.” Damon clinks his glass with Klaus’. They both extend theirs to Antoinette and they clink together before taking a drink.

 

Klaus smirks at the furrowed look on the girls face, her expression turning bitter at the taste.

 

“Not a fan of aged liquor?” Klaus asks. He moves around the bar and bands towards the mini-fridge they keep well stocked.

 

“No,” Antoinette admits, “I liked the sweet fizzy drink better.”

 

“That's called champagne.” He pulls out a chilled bottle of pink Moscato and pours her a glass. “It seems Elena and her friends must come over quite often. Even with Stefan's absence.”

 

Antoinette takes the glass instead and nods her approval after tasting the drink. 

 

“They have their tastes in alcohol and I have mine,” Damon says.

 

Klaus nods and leans against the bar, glass in one hand. “You know, we've actually got a lot in common, you and I.”

  
“Really? Well, yeah. Maybe we can bond over our mutual loathing of my brother. Why are you so mad at him? He stole something?”

  
“My family, the Originals. I had them daggered, boxed-up awaiting the day when I saw fit to wake them. And he went in and pinched the bloody lot.” 

 

“Of course he did. Such a buzzkill, my baby bro. Well, I'd love to find him. Just the trouble is, I  _ sure as hell _ don't work for you.”

  
“You know, your drink stinks of vervain- so I can't compel you. There be no point in killing you because you're actually the one with the most help of getting me what I need. And yet it would seem a demonstration is in order. Perhaps I wasn't clear enough when I told you to find Stefan. Well, it seems you people respond best to displays of violence. Why don't you take this as an example of my reach.” 

  
Klaus pulls out his phone and dials a number he got from Tyler earlier in the day. When the person picks up he brings the phone to his ear and says: “There he is! So, that thing I told you to do...why don't you go ahead and get on with it.”

 

“What the hell was that about?” Damon asked, setting down his drink. 

 

“I'm sure you'll hear all about it later. This was just a reminder than if my family isn't returned to me, then there will be hell to pay.” Klaus quickly finishes off his drink and moves to leave with Antoinette. 

 

“Antoinette, Dick” Damon calls after them, “great talking to you two.”

 

* * *

 

Back at the Mikaelson manor, Saul had successfully organized the pack and got them situated in the dining room to eat. At the entrance to the dining room stood Tyler, who stared shocked at all of the hybrids. With everything going on with Stefan, Klaus had neglected to update Tyler on his new hybrid siblings. 

 

Klaus comes up behind him and slaps him on the shoulder with a firm hand. “Here he is: man of the hour!”

 

“What is all of this?” Tyler asks, he turns to face Klaus. He watches as Antoinette passes them both without a word, but his eyes trails after the girl as she goes towards her pack.

 

“This, Tyler, are all of my hybrids. Courtesy of Antoinette, who I’ve heard you've already had the pleasure of meeting.” 

 

“Yeah, briefly,” Tyler admits. He frowns after Antoinette, but shakes his head and turns to give Klaus his full attention. “So everything went okay?” 

  
“Tony ran down Alaric instead of Jeremy, but apples, oranges, message lands the same.” 

  
“You said you are sending them a warning,” Tyler states angrily. 

  
“And I did. An effective one! Elena's family suffers, she is motivated to get me what I want,” Klaus explains. 

  
“I didn't think that we actually have to kill anyone.” 

  
“Tyler, mate. What you are feeling is the remnant of a guilty conscience. I need you to get over it, okay? End of the day human life is just a means to an end. Our means to our end. You do well to remember that?” 

 

Before Tyler could respond, Antoinette yells out in pain. Klaus is at her side in an instant, one hand on her back to steady her. There is no obvious wound or source of pain that Klaus could see and he couldn’t smell any blood from the girl.

 

“What is it?” Klaus asks. “This isn’t like before.” 

 

“That’s because it isn’t like last time” she grits out through clenched teeth. One hand is placed over her heart and Klaus could see the beginnings of claws starting to take form. She falls onto her knees and her breathe comes out in ragged puffs. “Something is wrong with Tony.”

 

“What is she talking about?” Tyler asks. He had followed Klaus over to Antoinette when she first began to groan in pain.

 

Saul is the one to respond, moving Klaus out of the way as he lowers Antoinette to the ground, her head resting in his lap. “The Alpha is connected to the pack.”

 

“Tyler,” Klaus instructs, “go see if you can find out what happened to Tony.”

 

“The pain is going away,” Antoinette huffs out. She sits up from her inclined position, but still looks sickly, skin sweaty and pale. “But I can’t feel Tony anymore.”

 

She turns worried eyes towards Saul, who grabs her hands in comfort. “What does that mean?” Klaus asks. 

 

Antoinette shakes her head and lowers her eyes, tears threatening to spill from the corners. At this point the present members of the pack had stalled in their eating, gathering around the three of them. They come closer, some sitting so their knees are touching. Hands are extended and placed on shoulders and all bow their heads in silence.

 

Eventually Antoinette gathers the will to lift her head and lock green eyes with Klaus’. “If I can no longer feel him in my soul, then Tony is dead.”

 

* * *

 

Klaus stands outside of the Salvatore Boarding house, waiting for Elena who opens the door.   
  
“Thank you for coming.” Elena greets, moving out of the way so Klaus is able to enter the house.   
  
“I trust you have news of Stefan?” Klaus asks conversationally. Klaus wasn’t surprised at the outcome of Tony, but he was surprised by the response. It seemed the Demon wolves were in mourning with their Alpha, who felt the death the most intimately. 

  
“I couldn't find him. But I have something else.”

  
Klaus follows Elena down to the cellar. She opens one of the cellar doors and reveals his lost sister, who lies on the ground, daggered.

  
“My poor sister,” Klaus coos. He kneels down beside her and brushes a stray curl away from her face. “It seems I can't turn my back on her for a moment.”

  
“You have Rebekah. A deal is a deal,” Elena says, crossing her arms over her chest. 

  
Klaus sighs, standing to face the irritating doppelganger. “The life of my sister in exchange for your brother? Yeah I'd say that's a bargain. Consider him spared.”

  
At that, Elena lets out a relieved breath of air. “You should know I was the one that daggered   her. When she wakes she'll come after me.”   
  


“I can control Rebekah. Besides I still need your help finding Stefan.” He picks his sister up in his arms and starts moving towards the entrance of the cellar. 

  
“I told you I don't know where he is,” Elena states, following after him.   
  
“You're lying,” Klaus shoots over his shoulder. “Fortunately you have no shortage of loved ones. If I don't find my family the question you should be asking yourself is who's gonna die next! Bonnie? Caroline? Damon? It's only a matter of time before Stefan gives me what I want.”

  
“He doesn't care about me anymore. You made sure of that. You turned him into a monster. Now he's your problem. And just so you know I'm not the only one that Rebekah wants dead. She knows what you did to your mother. She knows that you killed her. You can let yourself out.”

 

At that Klaus stops. If Rebekah knew the truth about their mother’s death then she would be livid. But then again Elena could only be bluffing. It was one he was unwilling to take. Not when he was this close to everything he’s ever worked for. He would not risk  _ everything  _ on his sister’s ire. 

 

No. 

 

For now Rebekah would have to remain daggered. Kol and Elijah would need to be kept in the dark about this as well. Klaus was racking on lies and secrets by the minute. Recovering Rebekah was only a small, short-lived victory. Stefan still had possession of the coffins containing his last families members. It would only get messier the longer it went on, and something told him that a certain  _ Alpha _ wouldn’t like the casualties on the horizon. 

  
  


* * *

  
  


After getting Rebekah settled into her coffin and stored safely away, Klaus searched out Antoinette. He found her, sitting in bed cross-legged with a sleeping Saul beside her. He laid shirtless on her bed, body tangled with the covers. Antoinette wore a simple night dress that spread around her knees, long hair pulled back with a cord of string. Klaus stood at the door observing the two, watching as Antoinette flipped pages in a book.

 

“Do you read?” Klaus asked, alerting her of her presence. Antoinette quickly looked up and closed the book, a blush spreading across her face. 

 

“No, but I enjoy looking at the pictures,” she admitted. Klaus nodded along and came closer, leaning against the frame of the bed. When she realized Klaus wasn’t here to mock her, she reopened her book and turned it so it was facing Klaus. On the page was a picture of the Eiffel Tower. “What is this monument?”

 

Klaus smiled down at her and flipped to a different page, this one with various photos of Paris. “That, Antoinette, is the renowned Eiffel Tower of Paris.”

 

“Why did they do this?”

 

“Sometimes people like to erect tall things to make themselves feel important.”

 

Antoinette frowns at his words and turns back to the book. “Then I am surprised you haven’t put one outside in the backyard.”

 

“All in due time, sweetheart,” he responds. A smile pulls at her lips, but it quickly vanishes. She opens to another page and points to a different picture. “Ah, that is the Statue of Liberty in New York City.”

 

“Paris,” Antoinette states, “New York. These are all places?”

 

“Yes, you’ll find that the world is a much bigger place than just the forest, little wolf.”

 

“I am coming to understand that everyday,” she admits. The mood turns serious with that and she closes to book to give Klaus her full attention. “Is there something you wanted?”

 

“I just wanted to see how you were faring after the death of Tony.”

 

Antoinette opens her mouth to speak, but seems at a lost for words. “That is very… human of you Niklaus,” she states.

 

“But I can see that you must be feeling immensely better if you’ve invited Saul into to your bed.” He can’t stop the accusing tone that comes out of his voice and Antoinette turns to frown at her friend. He shouldn’t care how Antoinette copes with the loss of her packmate, but something inside of him twisted painfully at finding Saul in her bed. 

 

“I feel like I am missing something,” Antoinette admits. “Saul sleeps here because he does not wish to sleep alone.”

 

“Oh,” Klaus says. They stare at each other for a while and he feels like an idiot. She might not have known exactly what he was hinting at, but she did notice his dislike of the notion. “I did come to ask you something.”

 

“Go ahead,” she motions for him to sit on the edge of the bed and he obliges.

 

“When I asked you if you wanted to be turned, you said no. I want to know why.”

 

Antoinette folded her hands over her lap and played with the hem of her dress. “The gifts I have, they mean I am connected with the earth. I don’t know if I would still have that connection if I turned.”

 

“But you were still able to feel the other wolves in your pack after they turned,” Klaus points out. 

 

“I know,” she sighs. She shakes her head and smiles sadly down at her hands. “It might sound...  silly, but I believe that when a Demon wolf dies they become one with nature again. If I turned then I might lose my chance of ever seeing my mother again. To not be able to one day run with her again, to not be able to be with all of our ancestors, that is the greatest curse. One I don’t think you'd be able to find a loophole for.”

 

“I don’t think your concerns are silly, Antoinette.” Her green eyes lift to lock with his blue ones. “On the contrary, wanting to be with those you care for in death is a very natural wish.”

 

“It is a little odd that Niklaus Mikaelson would know a thing about death.”

 

“I’m immortal, not simple,” Klaus defends.

 

A breathy laugh escapes Antoinette and she brings a hand up to her mouth to stifle the sound, throwing a cautious look over at Saul. The young man continues to snore lightly, completely unbothered by their ongoing conversation.

 

“I don’t think a little chuckle will wake him anytime soon.”

 

“No,” Antoinette agrees. She moves a strand of dark hair out of his face. “Saul does not wake lightly. I often tell him he needs a sentry to keep him safe.”

 

“Is that what you are doing?”

 

Antoinette smiles softly at Saul, but shakes her head. “Sleep evades me tonight.”

 

“Have you been feeling ill again?”

 

Antoinette turns to him with a peculiar look in her eye. It is as if he’s grown a third eye or something, but nonetheless the girls huffs out a breath. “No, but I think you may be the one a little ill today.”

 

She reaches up and places a hand on his forehead. Klaus pauses, not knowing what to do with the sudden movement. This close he is able to see every speck of color in her eyes. Her eyes reminded Klaus of the forest, thick eyelashes framing almond eyes. He’d seen that exact shade of jade in her eyes a long time ago, in a Romanian merchant center. He can see specks of brown closer to her irises, swirling around. When she blinked the spell was broken and she removed her hand. 

 

“You have no fever. I can only assume that the years have finally taken a toll on your head.” 

 

“Well then, Dr. Antoinette, it seems rest is my only cure” he says turning around to leave her for the night. 

 

“Wait,” Antoinette calls. He stops and waits for her, turning so he’s facing her where he stands by the doorway. “Thank you, for checking on me.”

 

“You’re welcome, Antoinette. Sweet dreams.” He nods his head at her and then turns to leave, closing the door behind him.

 


	4. New Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No pain no gain

This time, when another one of  the hybrids dies, Antoinette stays in bed. Saul sits at her side, running his hands through her hair and allowing her to rest on his thigh. Klaus brings them breakfast on a tray since they missed the meal earlier, slices of fresh fruit and cheese. After awhile he had noticed the Demon wolves’ preference for fresh and unprocessed food. She’s asleep when he drops off the food, but Saul gives him a curt nod.

 

Downstairs stands Stefan by the entrance way. “I'm surprised you're still in town. I gave you your freedom, you could have gone anywhere.” Klaus makes his way over to the man, not surprised at seeing him here. He knew it was only a matter of time before Stefan got impatient, favoring a direct approach instead. 

 

“I live here, Klaus.” 

 

“Well, if we're playing this game, then...I was here first,” Klaus says sarcastically. 

 

Stefan crosses his arms and frowns. “You know, I don't like your hybrid friends. They're everywhere, kind of like fleas. I want them gone.”

 

“Yeah, well I kind of like having them around.” Klaus shrugs. “You know, I'm hurt. I hoped that when I freed you, we'd pick up where we left off. But here you are, guzzling vervain like the rest of them, I'm sure. So much for friendship.”

 

“Friends don't strip friends of their free will.”

 

“Okay, granted, yeah, that was a little extreme,” Klaus rolls his eyes, “but I get a little moody. Just ask my siblings. Speaking of whom, isn't it time you handed them over?”

 

“Klaus, get your hybrids out of Mystic Falls or I will remove them myself,” he threatens.

 

“Hmm.” Klaus pretends as if he’s thinking the option over. “You see, if you continue to threaten me, I'm gonna be forced to retaliate. Kill people. And it will get messy again.”

 

“Do whatever you want, I don't really care. Or you know what? Maybe I do. Maybe I care so much, that I'll drop one of your coffins in the Arctic.”

 

“Well, maybe I'll be willing to lose one brother if it meant killing yours.”

 

“Try me, let's find out.”

 

One of the hybrids, Mindy walks in at that moment. She surveys the two of them, taking in their aggressive stances and looks at Klaus. “Is everything okay?”

 

“Everything is fine, Mindy. Stefan was just leaving after failing to make his point.”

 

Stefan frowns at the two of them, but quickly grabs a saw from the work table he's next to. He rushes over to Mindy and lifts his arm to cut her head off with the saw. Before he could bring his arm down, Antoinette appears out of nowhere, hand grabbing onto Stefan’s to still his movements. 

 

Antoinette quickly disarms him, tossing the saw to Saul who plucks it out of the air. She kicks out the back of his legs and forces him onto his knees. With a twist of his arm Stefan groans in pain. She grabs his other arm and pulls his arms violently back to the point that Klaus could hear the bones straining against the pressure. Stefan curses against the pain and attempts to free himself to no avail. 

 

“You fool,” she hisses. She brings one leg up and places it between his shoulder blades, forcing his chest even more forward and ripping a groan of pain from him in the process. Saul stands before them and lifts the saw to Stefan’s exposed neck, eyes locked on his Alpha as we waits for her command.

 

“That’s more than enough, little wolf,” Klaus intervenes. If Stefan dies, then so does the chance at finding his family. He steps forward so he’s in Stefan’s line of sight and kneels before him. “You remember how I said things could get messy? It would be a shame if you were the first.”

 

Antoinette releases him, kicking him forward so he staggers on the ground. 

 

“Oh, by the way, this lovely firecracker is Antoinette. You’ll do well to remember that, because I’m not the only one who has a problem with you killing off the new hybrid population.”

 

Stefan turns to look at Antoinette but rushes out of the house before another altercation can take place. 

 

“This is becoming a problem, Niklaus,” Antoinette states, turning her anger on him. “I didn’t bring my pack here to be slaughtered like cattle.”

 

“This is a war, sweetheart. Sometimes there are casualties.” 

 

“Do not lecture me on the semantics of war,” Antoinette hisses in his face, even though she reaches just at the end of his chin. There is still a fine line of sweat on her forehead, but she pushes any fatigue away to confront him. 

 

“It seems a demonstration is in order,” Klaus responds, pulling out his phone and typing out a new message.

 

Shortly after sending the message Tyler appears, grumpy at being summoned, but present nonetheless. 

 

“I'm here. What happened?” he asks, eyeing Antoinette and Saul wairily. 

 

“What happened is Stefan had two paths in front of him and he chose the one that made me angry. I need you to help me do something about that.”

 

“Can't you just leave me out of it?” Tyler groans.

 

“What would be the point in that?” 

 

“Seriously man, can't you just get one of your other hybrids to do your bidding? I lost my friends, my girlfriend.”

 

“Right, your, uh, your girlfriend. Um, about her...I need you to bite her,” Klaus states, standing before him and placing his hands on his shoulders. 

 

“What?”

 

Klaus rolls his eyes. “Don't make me repeat myself.”

 

“A hybrid bite will kill a vampire, Klaus,” Tyler explains, franatic.

 

“I know exactly what it will do. Stefan pushed me too far, so I'm pushing back.”

 

Tyler shakes his head and moves from Klaus’ hold. He runs a hand through his hair and sighs out, “I'm not biting Caroline.”

 

“If he is unwilling to complete the task, then I will make sure it’s done,” Antoinette states, stepping forward. “Your friends have become a nuisance. If they threaten my pack, then they threaten me.”

 

“See?” Klaus says jovially. “When one door closes, another door opens.”

 

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Tyler yells.

 

“ All right. All right.” Klaus says, attempting to settle him down. “I'm disappointed, but you know, it's your choice, free will and all that. You can go now.”

 

Tyler throws one last look at them before leaving the manor.

 

“What if he warns them?” Saul asks. 

 

“It seems like someone has been studying their vocabulary words,” Klaus smirks at Saul.

 

“I got a buzzword for you: Fuck off,” Saul growls, stepping towards Klaus. Antoinette raises a hand and places it on his chest. She growls at him and he halts, but not before flashing his eyes at Klaus. 

 

“That's actually two words, mate.”

 

“Enough!” Antoinette orders. She rolls her eyes at their foolishness and turns back to the matter at hand. “Warning them would be futile,” Antoinette states. “Saul,” she begins.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” he states, backing off and swiping his hand through the air. “Stay with the pack, I got it.”

 

“Thank you,” she says, bowing her head in gratitude. 

 

“In the meantime, I will be out gathering some support,” Klaus states. “When you’re done, Antoinette, feel free to join me. I’ll leave a dress for you like last time.”

 

“No heels,” she instructs. Klaus smirks at that. For the homecoming party she was unwilling to wear the shoes that went along with the dress, opting to go barefoot as she tends to do. 

 

“Of course.”

  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


Klaus arrives to Founder's Hall where the fundraising party is well on its way. The party was dedicated to raising money for the Wickery bridge restoration. Klaus sighs as he takes in the scene, small towns will throw parties for the most trivial of reasons. He remembers the days when he would attend real banquets, elegant ballrooms and even more elegant ball gowns. No matter, this was just what Klaus needs to persuade some of the Founding Families.

 

He quickly spots Carol Lockwood, the current mayor of Mystic Falls, and the mother of his unruly hybrid. He approaches her with a warm smile and she greets him just as cordially. 

 

“Klaus, I heard you were in town,” she says conversationally. Her eyes shift around the room, not settling on one thing for long. “But I wasn't aware you were making your rounds.”

 

“I just thought it would be better to have a chat with the local community. Get to know some of the neighbors. Even donate to the honorable cause.”

 

Carol eyes him suspiciously, but turns to give him her full attention. 

 

“And a promise that I mean this town no harm, including your son, as long as Stefan returns what is rightfully mine.”

 

“Why would I trust you, you've terrorized my son--”

 

“On the contrary,” Klaus says, stepping closer to her. He brings his mouth to her ear and whispers, “all I've done to your son is set him free. Even after his reckless friends have tried to thwart me at every chance they get.”

 

She hums before blowing out a breath of air. “Fine, but I expect a big check, Mr. Mikaelson.” They shake hands on the agreement and Klaus passes her a glass of champagne for them to toast to. 

 

“You know Carol when I think of a mayor I think of an old fuddy-duddy, but you really have changed my perception!” 

 

She blushes and tips her glass towards him, “Oh, thank you!”

 

They talk about lighter topics and Klaus leans in to observe her.

 

“I mean you are just delightful! What color are your eyes?” Klaus asks after a joke of her's.

 

“They are blue.”

 

“Oh yes, they are.”

 

“Look at what the cat dragged in,” Damon interrupts. He taps Klaus’ chest and smirks over at him. “Nice vest.”

 

“Thank you very much, good to see you, Damon.” He turns to include Damon into the conversation. Klaus can spot Mindy among the crowd and he smiles. “Carol and I were discussing about whether you would be the other big benefactor.”

 

“What do you say Damon? Klaus has made a very generous pledge. You know how we're chomping at the bit to begin the renovation.” Carol proposes.

 

“Carol, don't take this the wrong way, but do you realize that you've been kissing the ass of an immortal hybrid who ruined your son's life?”

 

Klaus scoffs at the accusation. “Oh, come now. Some would say that I saved it from all that nasty full moon business. I've never had to go through it myself more than twice, to be honest, but still, I'm very sympathetic.”

 

“Klaus has promised to protect Tyler, Damon. And our town.”

 

“From who?” Damon laughs. He shakes his head and motions toward the crowd, where Mindy is. “His hybrids are the one the town needs protection from.”

 

“Well, I'd have no use for them if your brother would kindly return my family.”

 

“Not gonna happen.”

 

“That's what I thought, which is why I've come to an agreement with the Mayor.” Klaus motions toward Carol who nods her head at his words. “You and the Council stay out of my hair, I stay out of yours. Your town gets protected, my hybrids get left alone and everybody will be happy. All you have to do is to get Stefan to stop decapitating my friends.”

 

Carol turns to Damon, placing a hand on his arm to grab his attention. “Please Damon, just get your brother under control, or the Council will be forced to take action against him.”

 

“You've gotta be kidding me!” Damon scoffs, a look of absolute betrayal on his face. 

 

“Oh come on mate. Give peace a chance.” Klaus winks at him from over Carol’s shoulder.

  
  


* * *

  
  


It isn’t until her name is called repeatedly that she zones back into what’s going on. They’re sitting at her birthday/funeral, eating cake at the Fell crypt. Elena has a bottle of tequila dangling from her fingers and Caroline can smell the tang of alcohol in the air from all of them. She had been drinking, and drinking sometimes made her nostalgic, so sue her.

 

“Caroline, what are you doing?” Elena asks again.

 

“What? Nothing.” She puts her phone down on her lap, using her hands to cover it up.

 

“Okay, you're a bad sober liar. You're an even worse drunk liar.”

 

Caroline sighs, showing them her phone to confirm the lie. “I might have texted Tyler.”

 

“Caroline…” Elena begins, setting the bottle down and looking around the clearing at Bonnie and Matt to back her up.

 

“What?” she mumbles. “I'm delicate.”

 

“Give her a break!” Bonnie exclaims. “You can't control what everyone does all the time.”

 

They all pause at Bonnie’s words. Caroline looks down at her phone and pretends to fiddle with something on the screen.

 

“Wow.”

 

“Ouch, Bon.” Matt says, rubbing a hand on Elena’s back in comfort.

 

“Sorry, I know it's Caroline birthday, funeral or whatever but, I just feel it's really wrong that you compelled Jeremy to leave town,” Bonnie states. She turns to face Elena for an explanation.

 

“I'm doing it to protect him, Bonnie. I want to give him a chance to have a quiet normal life.”

 

Bonnie rolls her eyes and forces out a laugh. “He should be able to choose how he wants to live it, you're taking his choices away.”

 

“Bonnie, you can't tell him.” Elena stands to appease her friend, hands coming up to grasp onto Bonnie’s.

 

“Why? Are you gonna compel me not to?” Bonnie asks, snatching her hands away from Elena. She takes a step back and runs a hand through her hair.

 

“You know, you guys are ruining a perfect funeral.” Matt says, getting them both to chuckle and lower their shoulders a little.

 

“I'm sorry. I'm just gonna go sleep it off or something.” Bonnie turns to face Caroline and gives her a quick hug before leaving the clearing. “Happy birthday.”

 

“I’m sorry guys,” Elena says once Bonnie is long-gone. “I’m just trying to do what I can to protect what little family I still have.”

 

Caroline doesn’t know what to say. She does think not giving Jeremy a choice was a little shitty, but Caroline was an only child. She never had to deal with an unruly and accident-prone little brother. Thankfully she was saved from having to respond by Tyler’s arrival into the clearing. He looked around at them, noting the sour mood.

 

“Sorry, I didn't mean to crash the party.”

 

“So don't,” Matt says coldly.

 

“No, it's-it's okay.” Caroline stands up to greet Tyler and smiles at him. “Hi.”

 

“Can I talk to you for a sec? It's kind of important.” He inclines his head toward the woods and Caroline nods, following after him. 

 

Once they get away from the crypt, to a secluded groupings of tree, Tyler turns around to face Caroline. “I take it all back. Everything I said this morning,” he pleads. “Klaus can't control me. Not when it comes to you. I won't let him.”

 

“Tyler, it's okay.” She stops his frantic hands with hers.”Maybe we just weren't meant to be together. Maybe we just have to accept that and move on.”

 

“I'm not moving on from anything.” He shakes his head resolutely and squeezes her hands back with equal firmness. “I love you.”

 

“What?” 

 

He leans in to capture her lips. At first she’s shocked frozen, but she soon melts into it. Slotting her lips with his to deepen the kiss. 

 

If she weren’t so preoccupied with her hot werewolf boyfriend kissing her breathless, she might have heard the approach. One second Tyler’s tongue is mapping out her mouth and the next he’s collapsed on the ground, neck snapped. Caroline stands there stunned, trying to comprehend what happened. She sees it in flashes, long brown hair, green eyes, and then Antoinette is standing in front of her with a nasty expression on her face.

 

“What?” she begins.

 

“Don’t speak,” Antoinette instructs. “I shall be brief. My appearance is required elsewhere.”

 

A man takes a step forward from the shadows. Caroline recognizes him from the Homecoming party, she only saw him briefly, but she knew he was one of Klaus’ hybrids. He takes a step forward and Caroline moves backwards, putting distance between them. “What the hell are you doing?” 

 

The man grabs her arm and Caroline has no choice but to stumble forward. She lifts an arm to grab onto him to fight him off, but is blocked. 

 

“Tell your friends to keep their filthy hands off of my pack,” Antoinette snaps from where she stands watching them.

 

Before Caroline can respond the hybrid brings his shifted teeth into the meat of her arm. Caroline screams at the pain, fire shooting up from her veins in every direction.  He releases his hold and Caroline collapses on the ground, knees brought up to her chest as she cries through the pain.

 

They both quickly disappear after that, leaving Caroline to writhe in pain.

 

“Tyler!” she begs. “Please get up!”

 

She tries to nudge him on the ground, but it is futile. Until he wakes back up he won’t be any help to her. “Elena! Matt!’ she tries, screaming for her friends to somehow hear her.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Back at the party, Klaus was in the middle of a conversation with one of the members of the community. Damon had come in, interrupting him and brought him to an empty room. Antoinette had yet to show, but he had no doubt that she would get the deed done. Klaus sat down in one of the leather seats in the room and glared at Damon. 

 

“What now? You just pulled me away from a fascinating conversation about landscaping the Town Square.”

 

“Stefan just grabbed Elena,” Damon says, cutting right to the case. He closes the door and turns to face Klaus a frown on his face. 

 

“Well, he's getting desperate,” Klaus chuckles, taking a sip of his drink.

 

“He's gonna try and use her against you,” Damon explains. He steps closer to Klaus, trying to reinforce how serious he thought the situation was. “Do what he says, get rid of your hybrids.”

 

“Or what?” Klaus scoffed. He knew all about Stefan’s feelings toward the doppelganger. “Stefan would never dream of killing her.”

 

“You sure about that? He just tried to behead someone in the middle of a Council party. He's operating on crazy right now.”

 

“Well, crazy or not, that kind of love never dies. He's bluffing.”

 

“Maybe he is, maybe he isn't but if you don't want to believe him, believe me. I know my brother better than anyone, and right now, I don't have a clue how far he is willing to take this. So if he says blink, I suggest you blink,” Damon hisses. 

 

The doors open to reveal Antoinette. Her hair is pulled halfway back with a band and the rest falls behind her. She’s wearing the dress Klaus left her, but has gone barefoot again. Klaus smiles at her put upon expression and she brushes a wayward strand of hair away from her face. 

 

“Everything go well, little wolf?” Klaus asks conversationally. She throws a quick glance at Damon before nodding. “Good, because you’re just in time.” He lifts up his ringing phone, Stefan’s name on his screen.

 

“Stefan, how nice to hear your voice,” he begins conversationally. 

 

“Tell your hybrids to get out of town, Klaus.”

 

“Well that's not gonna happen until I get my coffins back.”

 

“Okay, well then I'm gonna drive your blood source off Wickery Bridge.” In the background he could hear the tires moving on the asphalt, Elena's voice as she tried to get Stefan to stop. 

 

“I don't believe you Stefan. You won't kill her.” Klaus says with conviction in his voice. 

 

He could hear Elena’s voice rising in the background.”No! No! No! What are you doing?” She coughs out. 

 

“What's going on?” Antoinette asks, taking a step towards him. Of course she and Damon could hear the conversation. They were both paying apt attention to the phone call. 

 

“I just fed her my blood,” Stefan responds. “No more hybrids if she's a vampire.”

 

“You won't do it.” Klaus reasons.

 

“Really? Try me, because your coffins are next to go. Say goodbye to your family Klaus.”

 

Elena starts screaming, her voice drowning out the background. “Stefan, slow down! Stefan! Stefan, stop it!”

 

“Tell him you'll do it,” Antoinette interjects. She approaches him and gives him a stern look.

 

“I have no wish to do anything he says,” Klaus snaps.

 

“What I did in the forest, I can do it again. Tonight.”

 

Klaus pauses at this. Before she said she wouldn't be able to call for that sort of power again. But if she is able to, then that would give the appearance that the hybrids were gone. There was still the risk that she may not reveal them again. Damon steps closer to them, not understanding what they're talking about. 

 

“Fine, I'll send them away. You win,” Klaus hisses into the phone. 

 

“Stefan! Stefan, stop!” Elena screams. 

 

“Stop the car, Stefan!” Klaus roars. 

 

He can hear the screeching of the tires as Stefan slams on the breaks. The car skids to a stop and he can hear Elena crying before he hangs up, confirming his compliance. He runs a hand through his curly hair and blows out a breathe before finishing off his drink. 

 

“What are you planning?” Damon asks. He crosses his arms over his chest. “By the sound of it, you don't actually plan on removing your hybrids.”

 

“It is no concern of yours,” Antoinette states. 

 

“Still not warming up to me?” Damon asks, mock hurt. “Nice dress by the way.”

 

“Thank you,” she responds, smoothing a hand down the long skirt. “It was a tad difficult to get into.” She throws an accusatory glance at Klaus. 

 

“Come on now,” Klaus says standing. “There are some loose ends we have to settle before you make good on your promise.”

 

“Hey!” Damon calls after them. “Whatever you're planning, you have to know that Stefan isn't fucking around.”

 

“Good then,” Antoinette says, looking at him evenly. She flashes her red eyes at Damon and takes a step forward. “Because neither are we.”

 

With that she twirls in a flurry of long hair and colorful fabric. Klaus follows her out of the room and towards the car. She stops just before reaching the car and turns to face Klaus.

 

“I'll need time,” she explains.

 

“Time? Last time you barely had to lift a finger,” Klaus states.

 

She shakes her head. “There's a ritual involved. I'll need the presence of the new moon tonight to complete it. Go, do what you have to. I'll keep my word.”

 

Klaus smirks at her. “Who said you get to make the rules, little wolf?”

 

“My pack, my rules,” she explains simply. With that she turns and heads in the direction of the manor. 

 

Klaus uses that time to give Caroline his blood. The young vampire is weak by the time he gets there, but after some convincing he heals her and leaves. 

 

When he gets back to the manor, all is silent and strangely still. He finds the wolves in the back, all shifted and facing the forest trees. In the front of the pack is Saul, who barks as he approaches.

 

“Where is she?” Klaus asks, not seeing Antoinette's wolf form among the numbers.

 

Saul throws his head toward the forest and begins walking. Klaus follows after him, noting how the other wolves stay behind. Saul leads him deep into the forest, twisting around fallen branches and thick undergrowth with ease. It hits him the deeper they go, the unmistakable scent of blood, but under it he can catch traces of bergamot.

 

He frowns at the new discovery and picks up his pace. When they're closer the scent of blood is almost overwhelming. It feels like it's hanging off of every branch they pass. Hunger burns deep in Klaus’ body and he has to fight the shift from taking over his features. He doesn’t understand how Saul, a newly turn hybrid, could stand the smell without the bloodlust taking over, but it explains why the other wolves stayed away. 

 

He was starting to become worried, there was no way someone could survive with all the blood he's smelling in the air. They would have already bled out completely, but to his astonishment stands a nude and every alive Antoinette. She has her back to them, hair loose from its early style and covering her back as it usually does. Klaus can't see exactly what she's doing from this angle, but he could see the blood dripping down her arms and seeping into the forest floor.

 

“What are you doing?” Klaus asks, rushing over to her to wrap her arms.

 

Claw marks run up the length of her arms and her nails are tacky with drying blood. Her usually vibrant green eyes are glassy and bloodshot. It takes her a while to focus on him, but when she finally does her eyes are confused. 

 

“Niklaus…” she mumbles.

 

“Why aren't these healing?” He demands. They should have already healed, regardless if she were the Alpha or not. 

 

“I'm suppressing my healing capabilities.”

 

“Are you crazy?” Klaus hisses, he attempts to bite his wrist and feed her the blood, but she pulls away, blood rushing out more as she aggravates the wounds. 

 

“The ritual requires a blood sacrifice.”

 

“It is useless if you die in the process, sweetheart. What use to me are you dead?”

 

“If I die then it is because I am too weak to lead the pack.” 

 

“Stubborn girl,” Klaus hisses, but Antoinette simply ignores him. 

 

She moves back to her earlier spot and lowers herself to her knees, hands coming down to her sides. The blood slowly drips down her arms and into the grounds were it seems to be absorbed directly into the earth as he watches. 

 

“It is time,” she says after a while. At this Saul moves towards her. Antoinette arches her back as the bones under her skin shift and realign. A pained moan escaped her lips and she lowers herself to the ground. Sweat builds on her body and Klaus moves closer, hesitating to put a hand on her body. 

 

“What is going on?”

 

“It is another part of the ritual,” she explains. “Once I shift back the ritual will be complete and I'll have the power to hide the pack again.” 

 

Antoinette finishes her shift into the lean tan colored wolf. Her fur is bloody where she clawed herself, but Klaus can see the skin is perfect knitted together underneath the thick fur. Antoinette turns red eyes on him and shakes out her fur, taking a few stabilizing steps. Saul nudges his head against her in a playful manner and nips at the end of her tail. This gets Antoinette moving as she trots around the space, stretching out her limbs.

 

A howl breaks off from where the manor is and Antoinette throws her head back in response. The rest of the pack eventually joins in on the howling. In the distance, Klaus is able to hear the stampeding steps of the approaching wolves as they convene to where their Alpha is. Wolves brush through the trees to join their Alpha, Antoinette greets them before shooting off in a random direction. The pack is quick to chase after her, one by one disappearing until it is only Klaus and Saul left.

 

Saul turns and throws a look over his shoulder, tongue wagging between his sharp canines in an attempt at a smirk. Even with his wolf features Klaus is able to pick up the smug look he sends him, as if he were calling him an Asshole in the only way he could at the moment. 

 

“Go on,” Klaus instructs. “Wouldn't want to get left behind would you?”

 

Saul barks at him, but flees, following after his Alpha and his pack, leaving Klaus alone in the forest. He stands there for some time in the dark woods as the wolves run together as a pack. He would never admit it, but something inside of him ached at the thought of joining them. Of shifting into his wolf nature after so long not being able to, but another part of him knew who he really was: a lone wolf without a spot in the world. 

 

# 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: self harm & blood letting


	5. Slipping Through Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We are nothing but beasts." -Antoinette

Just as Antoinette said she would, she hid the wolves presence, but with it her own as well. Klaus would be concerned that she had fled with them if it weren't for Saul, the only hybrid he had seen since the new moon, who would make an effort of hiking his leg up to pee on the front steps every morning like clock work. He would stare at Klaus the whole time, tongue wagging as he pulled his lips back to reveal canines. Less than a week had passed, but Klaus was getting impatient. Stefan had yet to return his family to him and Klaus had resorted to informing his brothers of the ongoing drama of Mystic Falls.

 

Kol had laughed at his misfortune and commented that it was karma for keeping his family daggered and in coffins in the first place. Elijah was furious, one that Klaus had waited so long to inform him, and two he had also no success in looking for a way to spare Antoinette's life. Klaus had bigger problems to worry about and the full moon wasn't until another week or so.

 

He was tired of waiting for Stefan to make the next move. Which is why he found himself sitting in the Salvatore house, music blaring behind him on the speakers and their liquor cabinet raided.

 

“What are you doing here, Klaus?” Stefan asks, entering the room and finding him there.

  
“Enjoying our stalemate.”

  
“What do you want?”

 

“No, the question is what you want?” Klaus sets aside his drink and closes hands in front of his lap. “My hybrids left town as you demanded, so _please_ tell me what I need to do to get my family back.” His words drip with sarcasm as he stares down the younger vampire.

 

“Well, see...Klaus...I'm not negotiating.”

  
“And you understand, that holding them indefinitely is the same thing as dropping them in the ocean?”

  
“No, No. You leave Mystic Falls and then give me call in a few years and we'll talk.”

  
Klaus chuckled, but decides it's time to stop the friendly act. Klaus may think of Stefan as a friend of sorts, but he was quickly approaching the list of people Klaus would like nothing more than ripping apart.

 

“I can give you another chance. Just one more. Let's make a reasonable deal.”

  
“Or what? You make one move and I will drop…” he begins.

  
“Yes, right. Crazy Stefan.” Klaus laughs. He walks toward the door to leave after not finding any ground with Stefan. It was time to change tactics. “How is that working out for you? Any friends left?”

 

Klaus leaves the Salvatore house and pulls out his phone. He might not have the use of his hybrids, but vampires can also be extremely efficient. As soon as Elena and Bonnie had left town, Klaus was notified, and it didn’t take long to find out why. If everything goes to plan then by the end of the night Klaus should be reunited with his family.

  


* * *

  


“I didn’t expect to see you so soon,” Klaus says, entering the kitchen. Antoinette stands at the island, nude again and  most of her skin covered in dirt and debris. She even has a few twigs stuck in her hair, which looks more unruly than usual. She looks up at him as he leans against the doorframe, but doesn’t stop eating the slabs of meat she must have found from the fridge. “Just got back into your human skin?” He guesses.

 

Antoinette nods and stuffs another piece of meat into her mouth. “Hmm,” she hums. “This is so good.”

 

“Rabbit isn’t more of your tastes?” he asks.

 

Antoinette shakes her head and wipes her mouth off with the back of her hand. “No, everything tastes the same as a wolf. You would know, you are a wolf yourself.” Klaus offers no response and looks away from the girl, looking out the window where he could see Saul, who was digging a hole in his backyard, paws kicking up dirt behind him.

 

Klaus frowns. “If you hid the wolves, then why is your second currently redoing my landscaping job?”

 

Antoinette turns to see Saul and chuckles at his actions. “He wants to get a rise out of you,” she explains. “But that is because he asked me not to. He doesn’t trust you.”

 

Klaus scoffs, as if the notion is that farfetched. “And what about you?”

 

“I trust that you only care about what benefits you,” Antoinette states.

 

“Don’t act like we’re any different, little wolf. I’ve seen the way you ruthlessly handle your enemies. I’ve been on the receiving end myself.”

 

“Then you’ll do good to remember that, Niklaus.” She moves around the island and steps into his personal space. He smiles down at her and boldly brushes a strand of her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear.

 

“I couldn’t forget even if I wanted to, sweetheart.”

 

She huffs out a breath and knocks his hand away. She pulls away and starts walking towards the stairs. Klaus listens to her as she enters her room and closes the door. From the window, he could see Saul, who stands in the distance staring back at Klaus. He smirks at the wolf and winks at him, no doubt he had watched and heard the whole encounter with his Alpha. The loyal second that he is.

 

His phone pings with a new message, one from his vampire contact that he sent out to North Carolina for a little damage control. It seems that Stefan wasn’t the person to go through, instead he’ll go to the direct issue: the Bennett witches. The text confirms that his associate got in contact with the witches, now all he had to do was wait. Not his ideal plan, but with so little options he couldn’t complain.

 

“What are you plotting,” Antoinette asks, coming down into the library where Klaus had drifted off after some time. She wore a T-shirt that was a size too big on her, and jeans shorts, cropped a little above mid-thigh. Her hair was wet from her bathing, and she was currently drying it off with a towel.

 

“At the moment?” Klaus asks. “Nothining, why?”

 

“Then you’re going to show me around Mystic Falls,” she states. She tosses the towel carelessly to the side and it crumbles in a heap. Klaus frowns at her actions, but figures one of the humans he keeps compelled could clean it up.

 

“And why am I your tour guide for the evening?” Klaus asks.

 

“I don't see any other pressing matters that require your attention,” she says simply. “Would you rather sit around and sulk?”

 

Klaus rolls his eyes and grabs a jacket. “Well come on then, love. Let me show you around.”

 

* * *

  


The first stop on the Mystic Falls tour is the Mystic Grill. Which Antoinette comments is a little “underwhelming”. Klaus laughs at her description of the establishment and orders them a couple of drinks from the bar. He already knows Antoinette’s penchant for fruity, subtlier drinks and orders her a cosmopolitan. She takes the drink and nods in approval after tasting it.

 

“This is the Grill, known as a hotspot for underage drinking and troublesome doppelgangers alike.”

 

“What about psychotic Originals? Do they frequent this place as well?”

 

“On the rare occasion, yes.”

 

She brings her glass towards Klaus. “I was told that this is how you show comradery.”

 

“Comradery?” Klaus teases, but her obliges and brings his own drink toward her. “Alright then.”

 

“Yes, we may be reluctant allies, but we both wish for the same thing.”

 

“Oh?” Klaus asks, encouraging her to continue on.

 

“You told me the first time we met: to be free.”

 

Klaus drinks to that, knocking back a good portion of his drink in the process. “Let me show you something.” Klaus leads her to the dart boards.

 

“What is it,” Antoinette asks, as she is picking up one of the discarded dart points. She tests the sharpness of the dart with the end of her finger. “It's not very sharp,” she observes.

 

“It is a game,” Klaus informs her. He picks up his own dart and throw it at the board, hitting the bulls-eye head-on. “You aim for the spot in the middle.”

 

Antoinette takes a stance in front of the board and attempts a throw. She misses, spectacularly, and the dart doesn't even come close hitting the target. Antoinette frowns at her failure and throws another dart. She misses yet again and then turns to Klaus with a scowl on her face.

 

He chuckles at her apparent displeasure and moves so he’s almost behind her.

 

“You’re not even aiming,” he observes. “How do you expect favorable results if you don’t even attempt them in the first place?”

 

He grabs onto her wrist loosely and brings the hand with the dart up. Steps closer, his chest almost touching her back as he assists her with lining up the dart. “Now bring your hand back like this, and then release it.”

 

This time Antoinette’s dart hits one of the outer rings of the dart board. She turns to Klaus with a self-satisfied smirk on her face. “I made one!”

 

“There you go, just needed a little guidance.”

 

Klaus shows her how to properly hold the dart again and Antoinette attempts another throw. She gets better as she continues on, her darts ending up in close groupings on the board. She won’t be winning any competitions in the near future, but every successful dart throw seems to fuel her eagerness on.

 

It’s not until the third or fifth drink that Klaus notices the slur in Antoinette’s words and the way she seems to sway side to side with the music with ease. The usual tight and coiled muscles were loose with drink and a slight blush covered her cheeks. She leaned closer into Klaus’ space as he told her a story of how he fought with Alexander the Great.

 

“Are you drunk?” Klaus asks, interrupting his own tangent to observe her. She turns glassy eyes his way and grins doopily up at him.

 

“I’m not sure, but there is a tingle in my body.”

 

“Okay,” Klaus laughs, grabbing her shoulders to steady her. Normal werewolves metabolized alcohol at a faster rate than humans, making intoxication difficult, but not impossible. He didn’t know why she was feeling the effects of the alcohol as if she were a human, but he didn’t think it concerning. He himself had years of experience on how much the human body could handle. He would just need to keep an eye on the girl.

 

“Show me how to work this” Antoinette asks, pulling from Klaus to walk towards the jukebox. She grabs onto the side of machine and shakes it a couple times. Klaus quickly pulls her away before she’s able to break it and cause a scene. She pouts, but allows his interference. “I want it to make songs I like.”

 

“It doesn’t make songs, little wolf, it plays them. What do you have in mind?” he asks. He flips through a few selections on the jukebox, noting some of the better picks.

 

“I don’t know,” she admits. “Surprise me.”

 

Klaus quickly picks a song, the track switching over to the one he picked, guitar intro playing over the speakers. “You have a lot to catch up on, little wolf.”

 

“Then it’s good that I have such an ancient tutor,” she responds.

 

“First lesson from your ancient tutor,” Klaus says, “The 1990s, the era of alternative rock.”

 

Antoinette nods her head, following along to the beat. “It’s a tad loud, but I’m not opposed to it.”

 

“Just you wait,” Klaus grins. Just then the singer starts belting out his first verse lines.

 

_“Load up on guns, bring your friends. It's fun to lose and to pretend.”_

 

“Hmm,” Antoinette says, swaying side to side, eyes closed and head tipped back.

 

The bridge begins and Klaus moves closer, hand coming up to her shoulder to direct her movements as she gets on beat. “You feel that? Your heart beating in tandem to the music, the blood running through your veins, the tingling down your spine. That’s called nirvana, little wolf.”  


_“With the lights out, it's less dangerous. Here we are now, entertain us. I feel stupid and contagious.”_

 

The chorus breaks out between them and she grins back at him, her smile full of mirth for the first time instead of something else woven into it. By now her hair had dried and the frizzy waves bounced as she bobbed to the music.

 

“Play me another,” Antoinette declared.

 

“More of the same?” Klaus asks

 

He plays her another song and goes off to dance to it. Klaus watches her briefly before his phone beeps and grabs his attention. The only thing the text says is a pair of coordinates. He doesn’t recognize them but it’s more than enough for Klaus.

 

“I’m sorry, love,” Klaus says, “but we’re going to have to put this little tour on hold.”

 

“What?” Antoinette asks. “But I’m having _fun_!”

 

“Yes, yes, but I have the location of my family, so it is time to go pick them up,” Klaus explains.

 

Antoinette pouts, but follows him out of the Grill. “Fine, but this tour isn’t over, Niklaus.”

 

“Don’t worry, I promise to make today up to you, little wolf.”

 

* * *

  


The coordinates take them to a decrepit old house, dried up vines climbing up the shutters.

 

“This doesn’t look promising,” he mutters as they move around the house.

“What now? Shall we search from top to bottom?” Antoinette says, a sarcastic tilt in her voice.

 

“Or we can just wait for the eldest Salvatore to come rushing forward.”

 

She rolls her eyes at him, the red flashing before settling green. Klaus huffed, thinking about when Christmas comes around he would have lots of jokes for her. Of course they might fly over he head, but that just made the whole ordeal even funnier.

 

He stops abruptly, his previous thoughts literally knocking him senseless.

 

December was a long ways off. In fact, it was still approaching fall. He had promised himself one month, but that is because of Elijah and Rebekah. He had received no opinion from his youngest brother, and he doubted Kol would easily offer him one. So why was he think of months in the future?

 

Klaus had no answer for himself. His mind was unable to make sense out of his thoughts. The girl would be dead in less than a week, he told himself. He settled for turning towards the basement, cellar doors clear of any dust.

 

“Ah ha, seems like we don’t have to wait much longer,” Klaus says, opening the doors and descending the stairs. There are candles lighting up the path, but other than that it looks empty.

 

“Is your family a pair of dust mites?” Antoinette says, trailing behind him.

 

“Someone is a little _biting_ this evening,” Klaus remarks, clasping his hands behind his back as he looks around.

 

“I didn’t think this day would include touring Mystic Falls’ squalor.”

 

“I know what it is,” Klaus says, throwing a smirk over his shoulder. “Someone is upset I ruined their fun.”  

 

“Perhaps.”

 

They both hear the footsteps above them and turn to face the stairs, watching as Damon enters into another room lit with candles. Klaus follows after him, but Antoinette continues to look around.

 

“What took you so long? Hiding behind your witchy friends.” Klaus emerges from the other room, grabbing Damon’s attention.

 

“And in squalor, no less,” Klaus comments, looking around the dank room.

 

Suddenly the candles burn brighter and a screech goes through the room. An intense pain shoots through his head, sending shocks down his spine. Klaus falls to his knee, clutching his head and shouting as his head throbs.

 

“Insulting a bunch of dead witches...not smart. I made the exact same mistake first time I came in here.”

 

The pain subsides and Klaus stands up to speak to Damon.

 

“Well, you know, the funny thing about witches is, that living or death, they care about their own. A hundred dead witches have a thousand living descendants…” Klaus trails off, the pain returning tenfold. This time Klaus is able to withstand it, and speaks above the pain wracking his body. “And I have no problem, killing every last one of them, if I don't get my coffins back. As we speak, my hybrid friend is prepared to end the Bennett line.”

 

The candles stop burning as brightly and the pain vanishes. Klaus huffs out a breathe and turns a hand through his hair.

 

“Now...please...show me the coffins,” Klaus directs to the room at large.

 

“Niklaus!” Antoinette calls from an adjacent room. “In here.”

 

Klaus follows her voice into the other room. “Here we are.” One coffin sits on a pedestal in a room that's seemly empty of anything else. He turns to look at Damon.”Where's the other one?” He  screams at the room, demanding the dead witches to reveal the coffin. “Show me!”

 

“Well, here's the thing. They can't. It's not here.”

 

Klaus grabs Damon by the collar, hand wrapped tight on his neck as he slams him against the wall. “What did you do?” Klaus makes sure to enunciate every word clearly, eyes murderous as he holds Damon.

 

Damon forces out a smile and shrugs in the face of Klaus’ anger. “Well, Bonnie gave me the heads-up. I didn't have enough time, to get both, but I did have time to get one.”

 

“I will tear you, limb from limb. And only then, when you're a riving mass of blood and flesh, will I rip your heart from your chest.”

 

“Sorry,” Damon says, not sorry in the least. “The same rules apply. You know, leverage and all. I know you want your family back. But something tells me, you want what's in that coffin a lot more.”

 

Klaus releases Damon, tossing him on the ground by the stairs. “Leave!” he bellows.

 

Damon quickly flees and it’s only Klaus and Antoinette left.

 

“I suppose one brother will have to do for the moment,” Klaus states, pulling out his phone to get someone to come retrieve the coffin.

 

“Who is in the other?” Antoinette asks.

 

Klaus pauses, debating if he should tell her or not. “Someone who will be very angry to see me again,” he admits. “My mother.”

 

 

* * *

  
  


Klaus has the coffin brought into a manor and stored in a safe spot. There’s an unfamiliar car parked outside, but Klaus would be more surprised if he hadn’t received word from his brother beforehand.

 

“What have I missed?” Elijah asks when they enter the manor.

 

“We have a lot to discuss, so shall we?” Klaus says, motioning towards the study.

 

“I can see that,” Elijah responds. He cocks his head towards the front entrance room, filled with plush loveseats, walls decorated with books and trinkets, and a fireplace burning with low embers. His eyes trail over to the dark brown wolf who is currently napping on the couch. Saul wakes when they enter, but quickly adjusts to make room when Antoinette joins him on a seat.

 

Klaus follows his brother up towards Elijah’s study and closes the door after them to ensure their privacy.

 

“Mikael is dead,” Klaus states.

 

Elijah whips around to face him, eyes wide. “What did you say?”

 

“I killed him,” Klaus answers, moving closer to his brother. “With his own weapon. He's gone Elijah. Forever.”

 

“Why have you waited until now to tell me?”

 

“I figured you would be too preoccupied with your little endeavor.” Klaus says, moving around his brother to take a seat. “So? Did you find anything?”

 

Elijah sighs and reluctantly shakes his head. “No, the Demon wolves are barely known of. I’ve had no luck in sparing her life.”

 

“Shame,” Klaus says, plucking a piece of dust off of his pants.

 

“But you don’t look that concerned about the matter,” Elijah observes. His eyes rake over Klaus, but he keeps his face void of any emotion. “I see you have retrieved the rest of the wolves before the full moon, and yet the girl still lives.”

 

“Well, I did promise you and Rebekah that I would wait,” Klaus explains. “You might be the honorable brother, but that doesn’t mean I won’t keep my word.”

 

“Hmm. Speaking of our dear sister, if Mikael is vanquished, then where is she and why hasn’t Finn been undaggered?”

 

“Because of Stefan Salvatore. He holds the one thing keeping me from freeing them. There are things that you do not know about our past, Elijah.” He stands to grab onto his brother. “Our mother's death. Things I never wanted you to know but I'm ready to tell you now. I only ask that you remember the oath of loyalty you once swore to me.”

 

“What are you getting at, Niklaus?”

 

“Always and forever. I need you to stand by my side. Be my brother.” He squeezes Elijah’s shoulder hard, looking at him with all of the conviction he can muster up. “Help me destroy Stefan and I promise you our family will be whole again.”

 

“Fine,” Elijah concedes. “What shall we do?”

 

“That is the spirit.” A grin spreads over Klaus’ face. He will have to tell his brother about the secret he’s been keeping for centuries, but by the end of it they would be a family again. That was what mattered.

 

 

* * *

  
  


There was a lot he didn’t know about this new world. There was a lot he didn’t like about this new world, but Antoinette was steadfast in her belief that this is what the pack needed. To be free, but Saul couldn’t help thinking about the price their freedom would demand. How at the end of it he would be left empty.

 

He could hear them before they entered the room, but Saul act to pretend otherwise. He continued his carefree tossing of the glass orb he had found, head tilt back on the couch Antoinette was still resting on. When she had fallen asleep he had shifted and put on clothes. She had told him that clothes were important here, because other people weren’t used to nudity like them. To Saul, clothes didn’t matter. He had lived his life in only his fur, he didn’t understand why his skin was anything different.

 

Yes. There was a lot he didn’t understand.

 

“Surprised to see you in your human skin,” Klaus says as he enters the library.

 

“What did you do to Annie?” he asks instead, turning to face them. Klaus walks in first, followed behind by the Original named Elijah. This was the first time Saul had met the man, but Antoinette had warned him that he was just as deadly as his brother.

 

Klaus’ eyebrow ticks at his words and Saul smirks at getting some type of rise out of him. “On the contrary, she’s the one who got herself drunk at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Don’t worry, mate, she’ll just have to sleep it off.”

 

“Niklaus,” the older brother chastises. Klaus rolls his eyes, but leaves the room.

 

“Fine, brother. I will be off, securing our family’s safety. Please, watch over that one. He tends to destroy the upholstery.”

 

Elijah attempts to evade his eyes and Saul can't help the chuckle he lets out. He stands, dropping the small orb he was tossing earlier.

 

“I do bite, but I'm sure you have not a thing to worry about.”

 

Elijah frowns and moves past him to pick up the dropped object. “That is the eye of Horus you just so carelessly tossed around.” He picks the orb up to inspect it and then tucks it into his vest pocket next to a piece of folded paper.

 

“Didn look like any eye I've ever seen.” Saul shrugs. They're standing so close Saul can smell the light traces of gasoline on his fingertips, the agitation in his blood. “I'm Saul.”

 

“I've been informed.”

 

Saul whistles out a breathe. “I should take her upstairs--” he begins, but Elijah clears his throat and takes a step back.

 

“No, you both can rest here. Excuse me.” He turns to walk away, but pauses when he reaches the entryway. He turns to face Saul. “Where are my manners? My name is Elijah Mikaelson.”

 

“I’ve been informed,” Saul attempts for the same bored monotone Elijah had answered him previously in. He doesn’t know if got it correctly; making his mouth work around the letters ‘v’ and ‘r’ have proven to be quite the task for him,

 

Elijah huffs a breath of air, but Saul doesn't know if it’s from more agitation or what Saul had meant to be humor. He’s too far away to get a smell on his emotions. “I will be in my study if you need anything.” He turns and ascends the stairs.

 

Saul pauses and listens to his receding footsteps before turning to Antoinette, her breathing changing and signalling her consciousness.

 

“Didn mean to wake you, Annie.” He lowers himself so he’s not talking down on her, back resting against the side of the couch.

 

She shook her head and rested a hand on his shoulder, fingers coming to play with the hair at the back of his neck. “No worries,” she mumbles. “What did you learn?”

 

“Other than their plot to get back the last coffin, that has their dead mother in it, the mother Klaus murdered, by the way.”

 

Antoinette pauses in her motions, fingers tightening a fraction before loosening again. She releases a breath and sits up all the way. “Go on.”

 

“Just gonna ignore that?”

 

“Go on, Saul.” Her words have a harsher bite to them that she usually doesn't possess when speaking to him. That one is usually reserved for Josef and rightly so. He lets it slide, knowing that night wasn’t that many moon cycles ago.

 

“They’re arranging a dinner to negotiate with the Salvatore brothers.”

 

Antoinette stands and paces the room. “This could become a problem.”

 

“But it is not our problem,” Saul announces. “Annie, you should focus on the pack.”

 

“What do you think I’ve been doing all this time, Saul?” She stops to look at him. “I am trying to ensure that everything the pack needs is here for them to thrive.”

 

“What the _pack_ needs is their Alpha.”

 

“The faster Niklaus gets what he wants the faster they will have their _Alpha_.”

 

Saul stands and grabs a hold of her shoulders, tilting her chin up so her eyes are reflecting his brown ones. “You know what I meant.”

 

“Saul,” she begins, “I have until the full moon.”

 

He pulls away from her as if he were burned. His hands shake and he drags in lungful of air to try to chase away the panic rising in his chest. He’s barely aware of his hands shifting into claws, the the feeling in them gone numb to his senses. He is aware of Antoinette near him, her heart beating fast in her chest and the smell of bergamot in her blood.

 

Her hands settle on him and it’s after a while that he’s aware of what’s going on. He’s back on the floor, back pressed against a wall this time and Antoinette is crouched over him, eyes wide in concern. She runs a hand through his hair, letting the soothing motion settle him, anchor him.

 

“Why didn you tell me sooner?” he croaks out.

 

“And risk you trying to kidnap me?”

 

He lets out a shaky laugh, but feels more _normal_ for the display. However normal he can be in a new body, experiencing the same panic in a different way.

 

“Josef is _wrong_ . Paula was _wrong_ , Annie. You have to know that,” he pleads. The panic is all but gone now, replaced with the fervent need to convince her of the truth.

 

“It doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks, it matters what I believe. And I say this is the only way.”

 

“Annie,” he begins, tears running down his cheeks in silent tracks.

 

“Please, Saul. I have already fulfilled my duty as the Alpha.”

 

“So you’re giving up then?” Saul snaps. He hardly gets angry at Antoinette, they never fight, but this is the one thing he will never concede to. He will never tell her she’s making the right choice.

 

“No,” she states. “I am ending an eternity of misery, Saul.”

 

She pulls away from him and walks toward a bookshelf. He can smell just how much this conversation is hurting her. He doesn’t understand a lot of things. Not this. _Never_ this.

 

“What about me Annie?” Saul asks her. “What about the eternity of misery you will inflict on me?”

 

He leaves before she can respond, not particularly liking any answer she could possibly give him.

 

* * *

  


After ensuring that Antoinette and her second were occupied he had received a very odd text message.

 

_Dear Elijah, let's get together, plot the destruction of your brother, XOXO_

 

He had to laugh at the incredulous behavior of Damon Salvatore. Granted Elijah too knew the contact details of the Salvatore brothers. It was important to have a reign on every supernatural or adjacent being in Mystic Falls. Especially those who have previously betrayed him.

 

Elijah went to met with the vampire, made arrangements for a sit down between Stefan and Klaus. Now with that matter aside he slips back into the manor. He could hear the two heart beats in the manner. One back in Antoinette’s room and the other still in the entrance room. The heart upstairs in Antoinette’s room is escalated, sounding like it is beating fast.

 

He’s doesn’t know if that was abnormal for the wolves. That was one of his main concerns. Knowledge and information on the Demon wolves was sparse. There were no books, no cave drawings, not a painting, or any piece of record that could be of use. Niklaus had found them by sheer luck. One morning coming to Elijah with a hunch to head West.

 

It was he he meant to have a word with the young Alpha. He had yet to get a second alone with her. So far he had no answers to her predicament and with what would happen tonight he believed it best they finally had a discussion.

 

Elijah ascended the stairs, following the rapid heartbeats as he gets closer and closer to the source. He stops just in front of the door and knocks twice, knuckles contacting with wood. The sound must have startled Antoinette, because her heartbeat stutters to a stop. Elijah reaches a hand forward for the knob, concerned for the occupant inside. Right as he grasps the handle the door is wrenched open from the other side.

 

It swings inward and the momentum has him momentarily stumbling forward. He doesn't enter the room much, but that isn’t the problem. The problem is that he is standing inappropriately close to Antoinette's second. Elijah clears his throat and steps around him, fulling entering the room and casting a weary look around.

 

“I’m sorry, I was looking for Miss Antoinette,” he apologizes. He straightens his tie and watches as the young man turns to face him. He crosses his arms over his chest and raises a suspicious eye. When he thinks Elijah is done talking he sniffs the air between them and frowns.

 

“Not here,” he states, the young man walks over to the window, flopping down on the divan underneath it. He kicks his bare feet up and grabs one of the smaller pillows to toss in the air absentmindedly.

 

Elijah lets out a breath. He wants to remark that is a very obvious statement, but refrains from doing so. He opens his mouth offer an explanation but pauses. Elijah has no need to explain himself. His pauses causes the young man to raise another eyebrow at him, but he shakes his head to clear it.

 

“Nevermind, then she must be elsewhere.” He crosses the room and leaves, closing the door behind him. He stands there for a second, just listening to the sound of the pillow being caught and released over and over again. The erratic heartbeat inside had also slowed down, thudding at a more subdued pace.

 

He didn’t know what he’d find on the other side of the door, but that was not it. He ran a hand through his hair and went towards the other heartbeat, the one that had to be Antoinette’s.

 

It was. She sat by the fireplace, back pressed against the stone hearth and eyes attempting to flutter close.

 

“When my brother mentioned you were lightweight I thought he was exaggerating,” Elijah states, entering the room.

 

She blinks up at him and shakes her head. “No, it’s just been awhile since I’ve been a wolf for so long.”

 

“I’ve been informed of that… ordeal,” Elijah says, eyes trailing down to her arms. They were healed, no marks in sight, but the damage still inflicted. “It is part of what I wish to speak to you about.”

 

Elijah takes a seat near to the fireplace. Antoinette tracks his movements and brings her legs crossed in front of her.

 

“The fate of the doppelganger no longer serves a purpose to you or your pack,” he states. “You could have easily used the chance to flee Mystic Falls and never return. Instead you chose to stay and not only that, save the girl’s life.”

 

Antoinette chuckles, but it is anything but humorous. “Maybe it is because I am a person who values honor.”

 

“That’s what I’d like to believe.” She doesn’t mention anything about saving Elena’s life. Elijah is unsure about the nature of what Antoinette did while he was away, but he planned on getting more information from Niklaus. For the moment, he let’s the diversion of conversation slide. He stands from the couch and turns to face her head on. “It seems your pack has been adjusting well to their new vampire side.”

 

“Hmm?” Her eyes slip close again, but she cocks an eyebrow to let him know that she is still listening.

 

“The other hybrids before you had some... difficulty controlling their emotions, particularly the ones associated with rage and aggression.”

 

“Rage… anger…“ she mumbles, “those are nothing new to us.”

 

“It’s just that not alot is known about your kind,” Elijah explains. “Everything from here is unfamiliar territory.”

 

“What do you know of us?” she asks casually. By the way she opens one eye to look at him, he can tell she's more interested in the response than she let on.

 

“Cursed for an eternity to remain wolves, to become animals driven by their instincts.” He knows more, but he doesn’t think he’ll mention it. If she knew that they were aware of the Alpha myth, that an outsider had to kill the standing Alpha to inherent that power, then he’d lose the chance he’d have at possibly saving her. This was all information he learned from his brother throughout time and research.

 

“Anything else?” she prompts.

 

He shakes his head no, but maintains eye contact with that single green iris. Antoinette sighs but continues on, “The Demon wolves are well acquainted with our rage. A wolf’s very first instinct is to hunt, to kill, to _survive_ . If you’re not the strongest, you cease to exist. The desire to _be_ the strongest is in all of us, but without restraint we would have teared ourselves apart a long time ago.”

 

“Is that what happened with Josef? With Paula?” he asks.

 

She doesn’t look shocked that Elijah knew of those names. Instead she retorts back with: “Or maybe that’s what you lacked when you went sneaking out of the manor.”

 

Elijah chuckles, bringing a handcuff up to unclasp and roll down his sleeves. What used to be low burning embers in the fireplace was now a few licks of flame beginning to take form. He doesn’t clarify that he had only heard the names when he arrived back, and had left to his study to give them the privacy they deserve.

 

“I meant with how you forgiven the two. Your restraint allowed you to show mercy on those who you had previously wished dead.”

 

Antoinette leans back to get more comfortable, but shakes her head. “Josef is alive because that is the way the pack operates.”

 

“Even though it is something you are opposed to?” Elijah questions. He doesn’t know how their conversation had drifted too morals and ethics, but he wasn’t put off by it.

 

“I would like nothing better than to see Josef’s head on a spike with maggots feeding off of what little brains he possessed. What keeps him alive is not my mercy, Elijah Mikaelson.”

 

“Why?” he asks.

 

She scoffs. “Did your brother send you?”

 

Elijah lifts an eyebrow but shakes his head. He hadn’t spoken to Niklaus about Josef. With so many other things going on, the hybrid was a moot point to them. But here with Antoinette, her dislike of the man was so apparent he couldn’t help that he was curious. Elijah told her as much so.

 

“It is too complicated of a story.”

 

“I’m sure I can follow along.” To prove his point he takes another seat. This time he is facing her, planted on the arm of a couch, with his hands rested on his knees. She stares at him for a long moment before closing her eyes.

 

“It has to do with the curse of the Demon wolves. I’m not sure why the curse allowed for only the Alpha to turn human at will. But because of that ability the Alpha has only two duties: to break the curse and if not, then to produce an heir. For generations we remained unsuccessful. It wasn’t until I was born that things within the pack had became so hostile.

 

“We operate under strict codes and any deviation from them could have been our entire downfall. It is how we are able to survive for so long. My mother had broken those codes and it seemed fate would punish her. We began to die off: sickness, poachers, anything that could end us did. The pack was becoming… restless. That was when Josef decided that my mother was the problem. You see, there had never been an Alpha outside our bloodline, and he sought to rectify that.

 

“Eventually, an agreement had been made, or at least what we believed to be an agreement, but Josef had lied. One night, when the moon was at her third quarter Josef set in motion a plan to kill my mother. He wanted the Alpha power for himself and I was able to stop him, but not before my mother was murdered.

 

“My mother may have broken our codes, but she meant to fix it. No matter the consequences. Josef had no right to take her from us. He should have paid with his life, but fate must have other plans for him.”

 

There were tears in her eyes when she finished. Elijah could see them threaten to spill out where she kept her eyes shut tight. He didn’t speak, didn’t know what to say at this point. He gave her a moment to collect herself, before standing again.

 

“You are an honorable person, Antoinette, which is why I regret what I’m about to say.” She opens her eyes to look at him head on. “Word of warning, things here are about to get messy. You may have given your word to Niklaus, but the battle he faces ahead is a personal one. It is time my family had a chance to deal with our wayward brother.”

 

“You would kill your own brother?” she asks skeptically.

 

Elijah chuckles. “As much as he irks me sometimes, I wish no harm of that sort on him. Although his betrayal cannot go unpunished.”

 

Antoinette sighs and stands from the fireplace. “If you wish for me and my pack to steer clear of the manor, then you need not worry. There are some things I need to take care of.”

 

Elijah opens his mouth to somehow ask when the girl would return. It would not do well if she were to slip away. The action would no doubt fuel his brother’s rage. Niklaus was willing to be lenient now, but that would eliminate any chance of ensuring her survival. Before he could ask she turns to smile at him. Her gaze is teasing and all together amused.

 

“Don’t worry. I shall be back before the full moon.”

 

He nods and watches as the girl disappears.

 

* * *

  


Klaus sits in the dining room, sipping from a cup filled with rich blood wine and picking food from his plates. Elijah enters the room, with Stefan and Damon trailing behind him.

 

“Niklaus, our guests have arrived.” Elijah moves to the side to motion them further into the dining room and closes the door behind them.

 

“Damon. Stefan.” Klaus greets. He puts down his glass and crosses his hands over his chest, smirking at the discomfort of the two brothers. “Elijah tells me, you seek an audience. Very bold. Let's discuss the terms of our agreement like civilized men, shall we?”

 

“I didn't come here to eat, Klaus,” Stefan states. He crosses his arms over his chest and refuses to move from his spot. “Fact, I didn't want to come here at all. But I was told I had to cause you would hear us out.”

 

Klaus chuckles. “Well, we can sit and eat or I can reach down your throats and pull out your insides. The choice is yours.”

 

The brothers come to take a seat and Damon even begins to fill his plate. “That's the spirit. Isn't it nice? Four of us dining together? After everything we’ve been through.”

 

“Yes, especially between you two,” Stefan says, motioning between the Original brothers.

 

“Well, Elijah and I have had our share of quarrels over the century. But we always make it through.”

 

“Kind of like you and Rebekah, right? Where is she, by the way? Last I checked she was still daggered because you were afraid to face her.” Stefan attempts to throw another dig at Klaus, but he only smirks in response.

 

“If you're referring to the fact that Rebekah knows I killed our mother, I've already come clean to Elijah.”

 

“Hey, Stef, remember when you killed dad?” Damon pipes in. He’s putting a piece of chicken in his mouth and chews through it. “Might want to dial down the judgment until dessert.”

 

“We're here to make a deal, Damon. Doesn't mean we need to kiss his ass for seven courses.”

 

“I'm just saying we have a long evening ahead of us. Pace yourself.”

 

“Stefan. Where is the lovely Elena tonight?” Elijah interrupts, attempting to stir the conversation into safer territory.

 

“I don't know. Ask Damon.” Stefan reforts, a biting tone in his voice.

 

“I'm sorry, you've missed so much,” Klaus laughs. “Ah, trouble in paradise.”

 

“One more word about Elena and this dinner's over,” Stefan threatens.

 

Klaus smiles and puts a finger to his lips as a promise to keep quiet about Elena. “It's just the allure of the Petrova doppelganger, still so strong. What do you say, brother? Should we tell them about Tatia?”

 

“Now why should we discuss matters long since resolved?” Elijah asks, drinking his own wine.

 

“Well, given their shared affection for both Elena and Katerina, I think our guests might be curious to learn about the originator of the Petrova line.”

 

“Well, we're not going anywhere Elijah. Please, do tell.” Damon sips his own wine and smiles cheerily at the elder Mikaelson brother.

 

Elijah sits back and tells them about the first Petrova doppelganger. He tells them how she was able to garner the attention of many, including the brothers’. Elijah tells them how it was the girl who was the root of an initial feud between the two brothers and their mother’s decision to use her blood in the spell that turned them into vampires.

 

“But in the end we realized the sacred bond of family,” Klaus states at the end of the story.

 

“Family above all,” Elijah concedes.

 

They raise their glasses and clink them together. “Family above all.”

 

“So, why don't we move this evening along and discuss the terms of this proposal?” Elijah asks after finishing the last of his wine.

 

Damon, who was previously occupied with his cellphone turns back to the conversation. “That's very simple. Klaus gets his coffin back, in exchange, he and the Original extended family leave Mystic Falls forever. Me, Stefan, and Elena live happily ever after. No grudges.”

 

“The deal sounds fair, brother.”

 

“I don't think you understand.” Klaus stands, discarding his glass on the table and faces them. “Elena's doppelgänger blood insures that I will always have more hybrids to fight those that oppose me. I will never leave her behind.”

 

He walks and moves around the table until he is on the opposite side of both brothers.

 

“Let's say I do leave her here, under your protection, what then? How long before one of you turns her into a vampire? Or worse, how long before she dies caught between your feuding? You see, each one of you truly believes that you're the one that can protect her, and that is simply a delusion. Gentlemen, the worst thing for Elena Gilbert is...the two of you.”

 

Damon gives a weak smile, then looks at Stefan. “What do you say, Klaus? It's time for you to put something on the table. We've made our offer, now you counter.”

 

“Okay. I offer Elena's future happiness. You see, what she needs right now is to be rid of you lot. And to fall in love with a human, maybe that nice football player, you know the blond one?”

 

Damon scoffs and shakes his head. “Matt Donovan? Really?”

 

“Yeah, why not?” Klaus shrugs. He sees it as the most reasonable offer and the one that grants him everything he wants. “They'll marry, live a long and fruitful life, and pop out a perfect family.”

 

“And continue the Petrova bloodline. Every few hundred years, you'll have a new doppelgänger to drain and never run out of hybrids, right Klaus?” Stefan states, he’s still sitting down, with a scowl on his face as he points out Klaus’ intentions.

 

“Consider it a small return on my investment in her well-being. See, after you hand me back the coffin, I'll ensure her safety for the rest of her natural life. You know it's what's best for her.”

 

Klaus walks over to the fireplace and stops when he’s about halfway there. He gives his old friend and smile and extends his hand. “So, what do you say Stefan, hmm? Do we have a deal?”

 

Stefan sighs but walks over to the hybrid before saying, “Nice try, Klaus. But no deal.”

 

Klaus smiles, because there if there one thing he knew about his old friend it was that he was stubborn. Before Stefan can move he grabs one of his hands and bends his arm at an odd angle, breaking the bone. He kicks his leg and breaks it as well, snapping his femur in the process. He pushes Stefan's hand into the fireplace, and it starts to burn. Damon attempts to rush over to him, but Elijah intercepts him and pushes him against a wall.

 

“What are you doing?!” Damon screams out from where Elijah has him restrained, attempting to get to his brother and free him. “Stop!”

 

Klaus turns from the burning arm in front of him and faces the eldest Salvatore brother. “Now, bring me my coffin before I burn him alive!”

 

“I'll get it.”

 

“Go with him, brother. You keep him honest.” Klaus instructs. Before Elijah leaves the manor Klaus is sure to call out to him, “and when you return, I will make good on my promise to you and I will hand over our family.”

  


* * *

  
  
  


It’s not much like slipping through water. Saul knows how water feels on his fur, how his body feels weightless in a river, but this is different. From the outside it might have looked as if the two of them simply slipped through some sort of curtain in the forest. He felt the hair on his skin prickle with magic and the sound of the forest around them ceased. Here, in this world, he could only hear his pack, could only feel his pack.

 

It wasn’t a safe haven that Antoinette brings them to. That would suggest that wherever they are is a place without concern, but here, all Saul felt was stagnant. This was worse than being cursed, in Saul’s option. Here they felt no time, no sense of the world around them as they drifted somewhere between the world of the dead and the world of the living. But Antoinette was sure to remind him. It wasn’t purgatory they were sent to, but a mirror world of it.

 

Saul believed that it was a reminder to the Demon wolves of what they cannot have; even after death, freedom. To be able to look into this purgatory, but unable to act with it was hell of in itself, but for many of the wolves it was the inability to see those who have moved on. Purgatory was filled with various deceased supernatural beings, but none of them their kin.

 

_For cursed is the beast that is forever alone._

 

“Saul?”

 

It was Antoinette’s voice that dragged him out of his thoughts filled with dread. He looked down into her greens eyes and then focused on where her hand grasped his, where her palm rubbed his bare arm. He let these sensory feelings take over, let her heartbeat and her warmth anchor him when his thoughts wish to blow him away.

 

After a moment he huffed out a breath and grabbed her hand with fervor. Although their kin might be missing from this purgatory, that wasn’t always a bad thing.

 

“We’re almost there,” he says, leading her off to where the rest of their pack had gathered.

 

Josef was the first he saw, the grey wolf slipping easily around human legs and wolf bodies alike. After the rest of the pack had been brought to Mystic Falls, Josef had spent most of his time in his wolf flesh. Eventually, a few more wolves had followed suit. Saul was wary when he realized it was the same wolves who Josef would incite discord with previously.

 

His eyes roamed over his other packmates, eyes looking at families finally able to hold one another. To live as something other than an _animal_.

 

Antoinette immediately went over to one of the families, arms opening to receive a younger wolf who leapt towards her and tackled her to the ground. Her laugh filled the space and other younger wolves came over to join in the fun. They rubbed against their Alpha, attempting to get some of their own scent on her while simultaneously covering themselves in bergamot.

 

Those closest watched on in awe and joined in, but saul kept his eyes on the grey wolf. Josef huffed out a breath and kicked his back leg out, bringing up a small turf of grass with the action. Saul was glad that his Alpha was preoccupied, because that meant she missed the low growl he sent out in warning. It was loud enough that Josef lifted his head to regard the second, before lowering his head and darting away.

 

Eventually the pups had tired out and were collected by their parents. He didn’t know how he knew it was approaching night time, but something in the way it quieted down. Their mirror world was silent, save for the pack, but purgatory could sometimes reach them in the form of echos. It wasn’t words, not a song, just the way the air seemed to vibrant around them. As the vibrations dimmed to a constant buzz, he found many of his packmates drifting off into piles.

 

Human skin and human clothing were discarded for thick fur that would keep them warm. They had gotten used to sleeping and living in their human bodies, but surrounded in the woods like this, there was no better alternative.

 

_When in nature you are nature._

 

Saul paced the outer perimeter of the pack. Eyes closed as he listened to the collective breathing and sounds of slumber from the pack. It was well into the night when he first heard Antoinette’s quiet murmuring. She laid in a small alcove not too far from the rest of the pack, back pressed against a tree as she looked out into purgatory.

 

He waited until she was done, saying whatever mantra soothed her at night, before he came to rest beside her. He used her leg as a pillow and closed his eyes, digging his bare toes into the soft moss beneath them.

 

“Tell me, Annie. What do you see?”

 

Her hand came to dangle into his hair and she stroked a strand between her fingers before answering. He let their earlier argument go. They may never agree and the time he had left with her, he didn’t want to spend it arguing.  

 

“It’s called Nirvana.”

  


* * *

  
  


Klaus keeps Stefan’s arm among the flames, listening to him scream out in agony before giving him a temporary reprieve.  

 

“Go ahead and kill me. I know you'll do it when he brings the coffin.” Stefan grits out through his teeth.

 

“You really have given up, haven't you? Where's the fight? Where's the ripper?” Klaus pulls him from the flames and pushes him away. Stefan skids away and Klaus moves towards him, determined to make him pay more for withholding his family from him.

 

Before he can move further towards the younger Salvatore, he is stopped by Elijah and Damon who appear suddenly.

 

“Elijah...why haven't you left?” Klaus asks, eyeing his brother and Damon, who stand next to a woman carrying a silver tray.

 

“Where are you manners, brother? We forgot dessert.” Elijah moves toward the tray and removes the cover, revealing two silver daggers. The same daggers Klaus had used previously to subdue his wayward siblings.

 

“What have you done?” Klaus asks, fear striking him dead in the center.

 

“What have you done?” Elijah steps toward him, a smile on his face. “You see, I've learned not to trust your vulgar promises, Klaus. We're doing this on my terms now.”

 

Behind him Kol appears with a smile on his face.

 

“Kol.”

 

“Long time, brother.”

 

Klaus starts to back away. Finn suddenly appears, and he grabs a dagger and stabs Klaus through the hand.

 

“Finn, don't!” Klaus screams, ripping his hand away from his brother and moving to flee the room. Instead he runs straight into Rebekah who stabs him in the chest.  “Rebekah!”

 

“This is for our mother.” When she pulls the dagger out, Klaus staggers back, falling right into Kol’s arms. Kol pins his body and restrains him, while Finn wraps a hand around his neck.

 

Elijah turns towards the two Salvatores, who watch on in both confusion and fear. “You're free to go. This is family business.”

  


Stefan and Damon quicky leave after that, throwing one last look at the Mikaelsons before fleeing.

 

“I like what you've done with the new place, Nik.” Rebekah surveys the room, walking over to a vase and throwing it into a wall as it shatters.

 

“I wanted it to be for all of us. A place we could all call home. A place we could all be a family. None of us would ever have to be alone again!”

 

“Well you're right, none of us will be,” Elijah states, standing in front of Klaus.

 

“You're staying behind,” Finn spits, releasing his brother and moving to stand next to Elijah.

 

“We're leaving you, Nik. Right after I kill that doppelgänger wench, then you will be alone. Always and forever.”

 

“If you run, I will hunt all of you down,” Klaus threatens, righteous heat burning through his veins.

 

“Then you'll become everything you hate. Our father.”

 

Klaus in unable to respond, because distantly they all hear a door open. Each of the Mikaelson siblings turn around to face the door, watching as a woman, blonde with blue eyes, walks through the door. Klaus gasps out in shock, seeing a face who had haunted him for years, one he wished to never lie eyes on again.

 

“Mother?” Rebekah asks, taking a minute step forward.

 

Esther walks towards Klaus, eyes focused solely on his, but he evades her eyes as she approaches. “Look at me! Do you know why I'm here?”

 

Klaus looks up into his mother’s gaze, hating himself that he can feel tears threatening to burst forth. “You’re here to kill me.”

 

Esther sighs and raises a hand. Klaus flinches back, but she persists, resting a hand on his cheek and slowly stroking his face. “Niklaus, you are my son and I am here to forgive you. I want us to be a family again.”

 


	6. Fair Maiden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Be our guest, be our guest" - Esther (probably)

 

If a mother back from the dead wasn’t enough, Elijah was now out reigning in his dear sister. The initial shock of seeing his mother had worn off. Now he was filled with what could only be exhaustion and dread. It took hours for his family to settle on an even ground. There was cursing (Niklaus), furniture and items destroyed (Kol for the fun of it and Rebekah because she was angry), as well as threats (Finn). Eventually Esther had convinced them to try, she had convinced Elijah to try, to become a family once again. Esther had sworn that was her only wish since the moment she decided to make her family immortal.

 

To be a family again… Before Elijah would have loved nothing better, but since Niklaus’ recent indiscretions have been revealed, he was uncertain. Although Esther had forgiven him, there was more to what his brother had inflicted on all of them. He would need time to come to terms with how he was feeling and what he might do. In the meantime, he had a reckless murder to prevent.

 

In the distance, Rebekah stood holding Elena pressed against the frame of her car. Elena gasped out at being grabbed from out of nowhere and turned wide eyes on his sister.

 

“Surprised? You drove a dagger through my back, Elena. It  _ hurt _ .” She pulls her head back to bite Elena and the human screams. Before she could get a clear shot at the doppelganger's carotid artery, Elijah rushes over and restrains her by the throat. “Elijah.”

 

“Leave.” Rebekah rolls her eyes at her brother, but releases the human after a second’s hesitation. 

 

Elena gets back into her car and drives away leaving the two Mikaelson siblings alone. Elijah releases Rebekah and she pushes his hands away, baring her fangs at him in a low hiss. 

 

“Are you challenging me?” Elijah asks, stepping towards her and cocking an eyebrow. His sister has always been known for her petty and vindictive behavior, but to act out as such? Even after they had agreed with their mother to find some semblance of peace in Mystic Falls. 

 

Peace included not ripping out the doppelgangers throat and refraining from daggering their siblings. 

 

Rebekah spits in his direction, “You're pathetic. Both of you.” She turns from where she was standing in the middle of the road and flees. 

 

Elijah pauses, weighing if he should go after his sister or not, but eventually he decides not to. Rebekah will return after she had time to relieve her stress. There were more important things to focus on. Niklaus hadn’t been thrilled when Elijah told him that Antoinette and Saul had went to deal with the pack, but he was reassured when Elijah promised she would be back by the full moon. Which was only a few days away at this point, meaning Elijah had less time than he would have originally liked.

 

In the morning, a sense of calm had washed over the Original family. The night’s squabble seemingly forgotten and replaced with the excitement of the grand ball their mother was planning. The ball would serve as a momentary truce for each side to decide on what was best. Esther believed that a ball was the perfect way to begin an era of peace with the inhabitants of Mystic Falls, even going as far to invite the doppelganger and the Salvatore brothers. 

 

In the entrance room, Elijah found his siblings. Rebekah sat in a chaise as an attendant painted her nails blood red. Both Finn and Kol stood on platforms as their suits were tailored. Kol wore a grin on his face as he checked himself out in the mirror. 

 

“Rebekah? Tell me how handsome I am.” 

 

“Ah Kol, you know I can't be compelled,” she says, not even lifting her eyes from observing the attendant. 

 

Finn grins in the mirror at his two siblings and Elijah can’t even help the smile that overtakes his face. This, this is what he had been denied for centuries. Their peace was broken when the door opened and Niklaus stormed in, eyes burning as he approached their sister.

 

“You went after Elena? What is wrong with you?!” 

 

Rebekah rolls her eyes at the hybrid and mumbles, “Here we go.”

 

“Do you want another dagger in your heart?” Niklaus threatens.

 

The glass in Kol’s hand is dropped to the ground and he turns on Niklaus, stepping in front of him and blocking their sister. “Again with the dagger threats? Don't you have any other tricks?”

 

“Oh, go back to staring at yourself.” Niklaus rolls his eyes and steps around their youngest brother, but is stopped when Kol puts a hand on his chest.

 

“And who are you, my father?”

 

“No, Kol, but you're in my house.” Niklaus knocks the hand off of him and shifts his eyes into his hybrid features.

 

“Then perhaps we should go outside,” Kol suggests. He motions to the doors that would lead them out into the backyard.

 

“Enough!” Esther bellows, interrupting whatever standoff the brothers were having. She stands in the doorway and surveys her children, eyes resting on Niklaus. “Niklaus. Come.”

 

She turns without waiting to see if he would comply. Before leaving Niklaus throws Elijah a glace, but follows after their mother.

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Rebekah wasn't even out of her box a day before she tried to ruin my life. What happened to peace, acceptance, family?” Klaus says as he closes the door to his study. Esther stands by a bookshelf, finger absentally tracing over the covers.

 

“You put daggers in their hearts. You want them to go down on their knees and kiss your feet for reuniting them?” She doesn’t turn to face him as she speaks and something about the action rackles Klaus.

 

“So it's a crime to want our family to be as we were?”

 

“You need to give it time, Niklaus. I've had a thousand years on the other side to be angry and to heal. I'm here to make sure this family does the same.” At this, she turns to face her son, taking even steps until they’re less than a yard apart.

 

Klaus looks away, eyes locked on something on the ground. “I just don't understand. I killed you, and still you forgive me.”

 

“It's been my dream for a thousand years that this family could be as one. Forgiveness is not a chore. It's a gift.” A hand on his cheek is what brings his eyes up to lock onto blue ones that match his so well. “Now, who are you bringing to the ball this evening?”

 

Klaus chuckles, but is glad that the mood isn’t as bleak as it was a second ago. He doesn’t know how to deal with the emotions Esther’s forgiveness provokes within him, so he ignores them. “Don't be ridiculous. You're lucky I'm even going.”

 

“Well, I wish you would reconsider. It is going to be a magical evening.”

 

Klaus sighs and moves to one of the plush chairs to take a seat in. Hands moving to make himself a drink. “I am more than capable of going stag for the evening.”

 

“A mother’s greatest wish is to see her children happy. I could only hope that in 1,000 years you might have found someone who struck your fancy.”

 

“I am happy just how I am, mother,” Klaus responds. 

 

“Yes,” she says. Esther walks around the chair Klaus sits in and places her hands on his shoulders. “You have finally realized everything you’ve wanted for centuries.”

 

“Despite your attempts at sabotage, might I add.” He can’t help the amused and spiteful tone from filling his voice, but didn’t she say that everything was forgiven.

 

Esther chuckles behind him. “Yet, I have not seen any of your hybrids.”

 

Klaus stills his hand where he was just about to take another drink. Instead he smiles into the glass, looking at the swirling amber liquid. 

 

“Of course I wouldn’t leave them somewhere you could easily get your hands on. It wasn’t long ago that you were trying everything in your power to prevent me from making them in the first place, mother.”

 

Her hands leave his shoulders and she walks around the chair so she’s within view again. Her hands are clasped behind her back and she stills for a second. “It’s just a feeling I keep having,” she mumbles.

 

Without more clarification she leaves.

 

* * *

  
  


Esther’s plan to reunite the supernaturals of Mystic Falls through a ball was actually going quite well, despite Elijah’s misgivings on the occasion. Members of the Founders Council were in attendance, as well as the Mayor herself, who was busy flirting with Kol, ever the gentleman. 

 

“Uh, if everyone could gather, please.” Elijah says, gathering the attention of his siblings who come to stand behind him on the staircase. When Esther emerges from a room upstairs and stands with him he turns back to address their company. “Welcome, thank you for joining us. You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it's a tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance. Tonight's pick is a centuries-old waltz, so if all of you could please find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ballroom.”

 

He watches as everyone pairs up. Even Elena elects to pair up with a Salvatore as the music commences. Surprisingly, Niklaus stays away from the dance floor, preferring to watch from the shadows as the evening progresses. 

 

It doesn’t take long for Elena to attempt to slip out. Esther’s invitation to the doppelganger might have been for the sake of peace, but Elijah was nothing if not thorough. Anticipating what moves a possible enemy might take was one of his best qualities, and that extended to his mother.

 

The doppelganger is walking down an empty hall when Elijah intercepts her. She gasps out at being dragged into a small alcove, but once she sees who it is she stops her struggles.

 

“Elena. I understand my mother requested to see you.”

 

“Uh, yeah.” She nervously runs her hands down her dress and glances around before settling on the Original in front of her. “Why, is something wrong?”

 

“Well, her ability to forgive my brother after everything he's done to destroy this family strikes me as a little strange to say the least.”

 

This must catch Elena’s attention, because she inches forward to whisper, “Do you think that it's an act?”

 

“It has me asking questions I never thought I'd ask,” Elijah admits. Part of the reason is because he didn’t think these would have been the circumstances of his family. “Can I depend on you to tell me what she says?”

 

“Of course. I'll find you later, okay?”

 

Elijah moves out of the way to allow the doppelganger to continue her way towards the room Esther has taken as her own. There is quiet murmurs and then the burning of sage, before the room is completely silent. 

 

With no chance to get more information at the time being, Elijah descends the stairs and goes back to the thick of the ball. From the top of the stairs, he could see Kol and Rebekah, talking by the patio doors. There is a sullen expression on his sister’s face, eyes locked on the dance floor. Elijah follows her gaze to where young Matt Donovan and Caroline Forbes dance closely together. 

 

If there was one thing that never changed about his sister it was her easy infatuation with what she could possibly never have. 

 

His steps took him outside, into the backyard where there were less guests milling about. He knew better than to get involved in his sibling’s schemes. He had travelled around the perimeter of the manor until he got to the east side of the estate. As he turned the corner of the house he had a clear view of the pack house in the distance.

 

Since the new moon the house was notably empty, but tonight Elijah could make out a fluttering light in one of the windows. He approached it with caution, not sure what he would find, possibly one of the doppelganger’s entourage. The front door was unlocked, but he didn’t find that odd. What use were locks when the inhabitants could rip a burglar in half? 

 

Elijah could hear the sound of voices, too tiny and strange to be anything other than from a TV. He cocked an eyebrow at that observation, ready to chastise Niklaus for hiding out in order to avoid their mother. Instead, as he entered the living room it was not Niklaus he found, but Saul.

 

The young man sat pressed against a chair leg, long legs sprawled in front of him as he clutched a pillow to his chest. His eyes were glued on the TV in front of him, probably distracting him enough that he wasn’t aware of the Original approaching. A breeze blew in the window behind Elijah and he watched as the scent registered with the wolf. 

 

He immediately stiffened, before turning his head to face the vampire. They froze in that moment for a long time, both unsure how to react to the presence of the other. Elijah doesn’t know if he would have never spoken first, but luckily he was saved from finding out by a snort.

 

“Didn’ think anyone would come in here,” Saul says. 

 

“I didn’t think I’d find anyone in the pack house.” His eyes wander over to the TV where a young woman is drunkenly running around the Jersey Shore. He huffs out a breath and moves further into the room. “This show will rot your brain out.”

 

“Annie said the same thing about the yellow sponge,” Saul smirks. “But I like these adventures a little more.”

 

“Why is that?”

 

“Look how carefree she looks.”

 

At this moment on the TV the young woman was lying flat in the sand, rambling out to her friends and those close by. Elijah could barely contain a laugh, so he covered his mouth to not disrupt whatever interest the young man had in the show. 

 

“Why aren’t you with the others?” Elijah asks once a commercial comes on. He didn’t want to speak, because Saul looked too focused with what was going on.

 

“I got into an argument with Annie earlier,” he admits solemnly. “Even though we made up, I’m still upset.”

 

“Family is about forgiveness, something even I am learning to this day.” 

 

Saul scoffs and turns his head to raise an eyebrow. “What do you know about family? Hasn’ your brother kept your siblings locked in coffins? Hasn’ he kept you locked in a coffin?” Saul asks, not unkindly.

 

“Yes, which means I should understand exactly how family can become… less than pleasant at times.” Elijah steps closer and raises an arm to reveal his cufflink. He unclasps it from his shirt and holds it between his fingers for Saul to see. “The M stands for Mikaelson,” Elijah says, “I wear this everyday to remind myself who I made an oath to,  _ always and forever _ . No matter what my brother may do, he will always be my brother, he will always be my  _ blood _ .”

 

Saul takes the cufflink from him and rolls it in the light. “If you think a piece of metal is supposed to make me feel better, then you’re wrong.”

 

“No, of course not. I was honestly hoping I might distract you from your worries.”

 

Saul snorts and Elijah smiles at the action. Saul turns the cufflink over another time and runs his thumb over the silver etching on the front surface of it. Before Elijah could offer more words of comfort his ears focus on a sound outside. He could hear Kol’s groan of pain and a curse.

 

“I’m sorry, it seems my family cannot refrain from stirring up some sort of trouble.” Elijah moves to stand and nods at the younger man before running to the sound of a scuffle he hears in the distance.

 

When he arrives, it is as he expected. His younger siblings’ love of mischief often got them into trouble. It was part of the reason why Niklaus kept Kol daggered at times. He’s not surprised at what he finds, his youngest brother attempting to attack Matt, before being intercepted by the eldest Salvatore.

 

Elijah arrives right in time to dislodge the younger vampire and hold his brother back. Kol pants from where he landed from being thrown over the balcony and Stefan flashes forward to restrain his brother. 

 

“Damon. Are you crazy?” Stefan snaps.

 

The others rush out of the manor, Esther, Elena, his siblings, and even Caroline. Damon pushes Stefan off of him and glances up at the doppelganger, a scorned frown on his face. 

 

“Maybe a little. Far be it from me to cause a problem.” Damon walks away and Stefan follows after him. Elena and Caroline hesitate for a second before looking at one another and following after their retreating backs.

 

Esther clears her throats and all of them look up to their mother at the tops of the stairs leading down to the backyard. Finn stands stoically next to her, a frown twisted on his face as he stares down at their younger brother. Kol refuses to lift his gaze, where it has settled on a tuft of grass. A scowl marring his face and arms crossed indignantly. 

 

“It seems that this evening has been ruined,” she announces. “Kol. Rebekah. Tell the guests to leave and get this place cleaned up.”

 

Kol scoffs and drops his arms to glare up at their mother. “And why must we do that?”

 

“Because you have disobeyed me. Were you not told to avoid provoking the people of this town?” Kol opens his mouth to respond, but Esther lifts a hand and his mouth shuts close with a snap of his teeth. “Go, before I find a worst punishment for you two.”

 

Rebekah and Kol exchange a glance before walking into the manor. Kol grumbles the whole way there, but at least Rebekah has the decency to wait until they get into the manor. 

 

“No violence, that was all I asked.” Esther makes sure to lock eyes with each of the remaining siblings. Eyes resting finally on Elijah. “Rebekah and Kol disgraced our family tonight.”

 

“It won't happen again, mother. I'll deal with them.” He reassures her.

 

Esther smiles at him. “Thank you, Elijah. I wish the others were more like you.” She gives them one last glance before turning to enter the manor with Finn. 

 

Niklaus sighs from where he stands by the stairs. There’s a weird twist to his lips and he twirls a glass of wine around his fingers. 

 

“You were always her favorite, dear brother,” Niklaus complains. He throws back the rest of his drink and sets it on the stone wall. 

 

“Nonsense. We all know Finn is her favorite child,” Elijah says. He straightens out his jacket, but his fingers still on a missing piece at his wrist. 

 

“And where were you all evening? After the toast you seemed to disappear.” Niklaus grabs another drink from one of the passing servers. He takes a sip before pulling out a flask from an inside pocket. Elijah could smell the rich scent of blood in the air as his brother adds it to the drink.

 

“I was ensuring Elena’s allegiance with us. In the off chance that our mother’s intentions might not be as pure as she states.”

 

Niklaus raises an eye at this. “You believe she hasn’t really forgiven our existence?” He chuckles into his drink. “I thought I was the paranoid brother.”

 

“This is only a precaution, I assure you.” Elijah takes in his brother’s appearance. His shirt had been unbuttoned and his tie is askew. If he didn’t know any better he would think nothing of the disheveled state. His brother was known for his many soirees including beautiful women, blood, and booze. But there was a shine to his eyes that revealed this wasn’t from the usual bloodlust associated with Niklaus’ hybrid side. “What of yourself? I thought you’d occupy yourself with the Forbes girl.”

 

Niklaus scoffs and rolls his eyes. “You think so low of me brother.”

 

“No,” Elijah states. “It is because I know exactly who you are. If you weren’t up to your usual tricks, then there must be something on your mind.”

 

Elijah leaves the thought open, unwilling to suggest anything in fear that his brother might close him out.

 

“I simply don’t see the thrill in chasing after someone who cannot let go of temporary things.”

 

“Are you referring to Caroline’s attachment to her human life? To Matt? To her mother?” Elijah looks off into the distance, where he can see the waxing moon over the treetops. “Niklaus we were once human.”

 

“Ah yes, and then we were murdered by our parents out of conditional love.” Niklaus raises his glass in a mock toast to Elijah. There’s a moment of silence before both brothers find themselves chuckling at the dark humor that is their lives. 

 

“We had a good couple of years,” Elijah states. 

 

Niklaus drains his drink and eyes Elijah under the light. “Why so sentimental brother?”

 

“It must be the old age,” ELijah states, a small smile on his lips.

 

“You’d do well to keep the sentiments to yourself,” Niklaus says, walking back into the manor. “We can only afford one brother going soft.”

 

Elijah chuckled at his brother’s retreating figure. Yes, it seemed one brother going soft was more than enough for the Mikaelsons to handle.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


A sigh escapes her as she lowers herself into a chair. She had finally found a moment of peace, one she used to knead out the headache caused by her wayward children. Not even her fingers could expel the ache forming at her temples.

 

Her life wasn’t always like this. Esther used to cherish her children more than anything. But that was exactly why she was doing this. She had only did what she thought was necessary to protect her children. And protect them she did. It was selfish. She knew. She had only wished to see her children live, but at the time she was blind to any costs.

 

For 1,000 years Esther had time to reflect on her mistakes. 

 

Now with the doppelganger’s blood from the toast connecting them all, correcting her wrongs is finally possible. It wasn’t hard getting to the Gilbert girl and persuading her to donate a little bit of her blood. This curse began with the Petrova blood, it might as well end with it too. Her life will be a necessary evil in ridding the world of her demonic children.

 

There was a knock on the door and Esther inwardly groaned. Just when she thought she had a moment to clear her mind another matter is grabbing her attention. 

 

Esther rose from the chair and grabbed a piece of bundled sage. With a flick of her wrist the door opened to the room she had been using inside the manor. It was on the third floor and far removed from the more occupied rooms. Finn entered the room and he closed the door behind him, slightly bowing his head before looking around the room.

 

“Are we all right to speak freely?”

 

Esther nods as she uses a nearby candle to lit the candle. Moving it around to fill the room with its odor. “Yes, the sage still burns.”

 

She walks over to a desk that is covered in old books, candles, mortars, and other things she might need for her witchy schemes. Esther takes out a piece of parchment and begins to write out her children’s names in Runes. 

 

“You aren't having second thoughts, are you?” Finn asks, standing behind her as she works.

 

“Of course not, it's just Elijah.” Esther sighs and shakes her head. “He's so moral.”

 

“You're doing the right thing, mother.” Finn reassures her.

 

Esther turns to face her son and grab his hands. Finn has always been there to comfort her, ever since he had to step up to be the oldest. “You understand what this means, don't you? This spell I'm casting tonight will bind you all together as one.”

 

Finn nods and squeezes her hands back. “I understand. When it is time, I will be ready to die.”

 

“Okay.” She releases his hand and grabs a knife on the table. “Then we must complete the link.”

 

Finn holds out his palm and she uses the knife to draw a line of blood to the surface. Finn only winces momentarily, but Esther uses a spell to reduce the pain he feels. She moves his hand above the paper and tilts it so blood spills onto the material. 

 

As the blood spills Esther closes her eyes and recites a spell. She can feel the air shift as she chants, the familiar hum of her magic warming her fingers. It’s been awhile since she last cast a spell, especially one as large and powerful as this. But with her son rooted next to her she is able to complete the spell, watching as the blood spreads and connects the names of each of her children. 

 

“The link is complete. You are one.” She says once the act is done. Finn flexes his fingers and looks at his mother. “Go. Or your siblings may get suscisipus.”

 

Finn concedes and leaves after that. Esther hums out another breath and runs a hand through her hair. She collects the strands and ties it above the nape of her neck. Using that much magic leaves her body flush with a warmth that overwhelms her entire system. Already she can feel sweat trickling down her spine and collecting at her temples. 

 

“God damn it,” Esther swears as she leaves the room and begins descending the stairs. The manor is quiet at this point and for that she’s grateful. It means leaving out the backdoor and into the yard is easier and without distraction. The wind hits her instantly, cooling down her skin and chilling her sweat.

 

Esther looks around the yard. Mystic Falls. A town so mysterious it brought her back twice. It was beautiful, that she had to attest to. The New World was supposed to be the answer her and Mikael were looking for so long ago. In more than one way it was. It was everything she had been looking for, until it became her ruin.

 

Didn’t mean she wanted a reminder of those years. In fact she could smell something burnt in the air, permeating everywhere she went. She had smelt the same burnt magic only once in her life. It was right after she performed a spell that had almost killed her, leaving her in a coma for days. She never told Mikael what she did, she never spoke a word to anyone about her sins. Esther had believed the matter was behind her. She wasn’t so certain anymore.

 

Esther had wandered around the backyard and stood motionless. Out, in the distance, not even a quarter of a mile away was another house. This one smaller than the manor and built in a rectangular shape was various windows littering the walls. She could feel the remnants of the spell’s magic drifting from the other building, could almost feel the magic in the air as it caressed her fingertips.

 

“Saul?” a voice called in the distance. She could see a figure making their way out of the woods and towards the building. Without being aware of what her feet was doing Esther began walking towards the figure, eyes locked on the approaching person.

 

It was a girl, young but pretty with long light brown hair that blew in the wind with the tunic she wore. As she got closer Esther could feel her magic begin to reawaken inside of her, tingling on her fingertips as she reached a hand out. The girl turned before she could touch her, green eyes widening as she took in Esther.

 

“Who are you?” the girl asked. 

 

Esther was speechless, mouth hanging agape as she took in the girl. Something about her was so familiar, but Esther could not place the girl in any of her memories. Her magic buzzed inside of her and ached to venture out, to  _ feel _ whatever it was inside the girl that had her head so confused while her heartbeat erratically.

 

“What are you doing here?” Esther asked instead. The girl frowned and moved another step back, but this time Esther was able to reach out a hand. As soon as her fingers wrapped around the girl’s shoulder she felt a shock like no other run up her arm. The pain was enough to have Esther release the girl, who growled at being touched and swiped a clawed hand at Esther. “Shit,” she mumbled, watching the blood trickle down her arm where the claws had dug into her flesh.

 

When she looked up into the eyes of the girl she froze. Every breath inside of her immediately rushed out at what she saw. Red eyes burning at her, hands shifted into claws and sharpening canines bared before her.

 

Demon.

 

“Impossible,” she mumbled. 

 

Impossible indeed.

 

But if there was one person capable of doing the impossible. It was her son.

 

Esther would have laughed at the irony, but instead all she felt was the rage she had felt a millennium ago. The desire to watch those who took everything from her suffer. The rage is what helped her push through the pain and reach for the girl again. She would risk another cut to the arm, but she couldn’t risk letting the girl go. Not after now. 

 

As soon as her palm came in contact with the girl’s skin, Esther was muttering a sleep spell. She felt her magic rush out of her and into the girl and she crumbled unconscious in a heap. Esther caught her before she fell to the ground and looked down at the sleeping face of the girl. Her mouth was parted and her eyes fluttered shut, switching from their shifted red back into green before slipping closed.

 

“Shit,” Esther mumbled again. This wasn’t part of her plan, but Esther was nothing if not thorough. It seemed fate had more in store for her than just allowing her to end her cursed children. 

 

With one last look at the girl Esther began to plot. Began to figure out just how she was going to make them all suffer. How she would kill these cursed wolves once and for all.


	7. Sins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little trouble and a lot of trouble means a big mess to clean up.

Elijah had just finished his lap around the manor. He found that an early stroll through the hallways helped soothe his mind. His body had become accustomed to the route he took and he moved almost on auto-pilot. He finds his way towards the southern wing of the manor and his steps falter. 

 

Sage.

 

He pauses in his walk and looks to the door that leads to one of the rooms his mother has frequented. He wasn’t sure what she used it for, the running of the manor was usually left for Niklaus, but he had seen her leave and enter that door numerous times. From behind the door he was able to pick up the faint odor of burnt sage in the air. 

 

There’s nobody in the room, that he’s certain. For even if it was a vampire, all beings make some sort of noise. Even if it was the flutter of clothes in the wind or the creak of the floorboards under shifting weight; Elijah would hear it. He often prided himself in having superior hearing over his siblings. Although now with Niklaus’ new werewolf side unleashed that title has yet to be reevaluated. Only a proper investigation would lead him to answers, but the door opening from downstairs pulls at his attention. 

 

“Well, well, well, there's our girl!” Elijah can hear his youngest brother’s voice echoing from the entrance hall.

 

“Get out of my way, Kol,” Rebekah retorts. Elijah can hear what sounds like a thud and a curse and he sighs. His siblings seemed to never get along these days. 

 

“Out all night. What a scandal! I trust you did better than that commoner? Matt, was it?"

 

Rebekah's voice rings out, anger coating her words, "If you don't shut your mouth, the next thing to come out of it will be your teeth.”

 

Elijah sighs again and begins to make his way down to his siblings, not bothering to move more than a sedated human pace.

 

“Don't start, Nik!” Rebekah says at some unseen action.

 

“I didn't say anything,” Elijah hears Niklaus respond.

 

At this point he enters the entrance hall. He can see Niklaus further in the room working on a sketchpad. 

 

“Rebekah,” he says in greeting.

 

“Not you too, Elijah,” she pouts with a roll of her eye.

 

“I’m not here to judge you, sister,” he says.

 

Kol groans and crosses his arms over his chest. “I'm bored. Our sister is a strumpet, but at least she's having fun. I need entertainment.”

 

“What are you waiting for? Go on, have at it.” 

 

“It's not fun to go alone. Join me, Nik! It's the least you can do after sticking a dagger in my heart,” Kol says. He walks to where Niklaus is sitting and attempts to grab at his sketchpad. Niklaus evades his movement and chuckles at Kol.

 

“Okay. Why not?” he pushes the sketchpad away and stands to face their younger brother.  “I didn't have nearly enough to drink last night, what with you trying to murder Rebekah's date.”

 

“Yes, please go, this house has enough men rolling around it in.” Rebekah says, shooing them away and out the door.

 

“Just like you, Bekah,” Kol jibes just before leaving the manor.

 

Rebekah slams the door behind them, but not before shouting: “Good riddance, both of you!”

 

“Oh what is that face for?” Rebekah asks when she turns around to face him. 

 

“I'm worried about mother. Have you not noticed her strange behavior?”

 

Rebekah pauses and looks at him. He’s wearing another suit, but nothing to cause his sister alarm. Eventually she rolls her eyes at him and walks closer. “She's been dead for a thousand years, Elijah. What's strange for her?”

 

She’s probably serious he realizes, but Elijah decides to actually address the elephant in the room. “Burnt sage,” Elijah states “She was doing a privacy spell.”

 

“Where’s your proof?” Rebekah aks.

 

“I don’t have it, but that room she uses reeked of it.”

 

Rebekah shakes her head as she begins to remove her coat and kick off her heels. “You know she fancies such things. Why don't you ask Finn? He's been doting on her.”

 

Elijah frowns. “I don't trust Finn. He hates what we are, he always has.”

 

Rebekah shakes her head again at Elijah. “That's not true. And as for mother, she returned for one reason, to make our family whole. She loves us. What trouble are you looking to find?”

 

“Trust me, Rebekah, I don’t often look for trouble, but it does always find us.”

 

She rolls her eyes at him one last time and stands. “Whatever, brother. Investigate our mother if you wish, but leave me out of it. Some of us actually like being a family over being terrorized by Nik.”

 

Elijah frowns after Rebekah, but refrains from mentioning that if their mother really was plotting something then being a family was impossible. So far her intentions had seemed pure, but after secretly meeting with the doppelganger and now the sage… Elijah could only be wary. The last time Esther had met with a doppelganger alone she had turned them all into vampires.

 

That is why he found himself knocking on the lastest doppelganger’s door. If anybody knew what his mother was up to it would either be Elena or Finn. He would have no luck getting answers out of the latter, he knew that.

 

“Elijah,” she greeted when she opened the door. She glanced behind him before meeting his eyes again. “What are you doing here?”

 

“I don't mean to intrude. I was hoping you might accompany me. I want to show you something.” He motions behind him where his car is parked out front. When he turns back around Elena is biting her lip, seemly debating her choice before nodding.

 

“Sure, let me just go grab my jacket.”

 

After Elena returns with her jacket, Elijah leads her to the car before pulling off and driving towards the woods. Once there they walk for awhile, Elijah leads them through an overgrown path as they take in the sights around them.

 

“Forgot how much I missed this land,” Elijah says absentmindedly.

 

“I can't even imagine what it must have been like a thousand years ago,” Elena responds.

 

“You know, your school was built over an Indian village. Where I saw my first werewolf. The town square was where the natives would gather to worship. Matter of fact, near that, there was a field where wild horses use to graze.”

 

“That's incredible.”

 

“Come.” This time Elijah leads them to a small groupings of trees that surrounded a barren grassy space.

 

“Do you know this place too?” Elena asks, looking around.

 

“I do. Below us is a cavern I used to play in as a boy. Connects to a system of tunnels that stretch across the entire area. Perhaps it's nature's way of providing us with shelter against the savagery of the full moon. My mother said there must be a balance.”

 

Elena must hear something in his tone of voice, because she takes a tentative step back. “Elijah, I should probably go home.”

 

Elijah chuckles, but turns to face her. “I admire you, Elena. You remind me of qualities I valued long before my mother turned us. It's not in your nature to be deceitful and yet when I asked about your meeting with my mother the other night, you lied to my face.”

 

“That's not true,” she pleads. “I told you that all your mother wanted was a new start.”

 

“I can hear your heartbeat. It jumps when you're being dishonest with me. You lied to me at the ball; you are lying to me now. Tell me the truth.”

 

Tears form in her eyes and she wipes at them vehemently. “I never wanted this to happen.”

 

Elijah takes one step towards her. “What, Elena?”

 

Elena shakes her head before speaking again. ”We were told that whatever was going to be in that coffin was going to kill Klaus. When we found out that it was your mother....We didn't know what to think.”

 

“Since her return she says she only wants this family whole again.”

 

Elena shakes her head again. “No. When she asked to see me, I...I thought that maybe she could help. That she would find a way to kill Klaus. It's not just Klaus that she wants to kill.”

 

Elijah pauses once Elena’s words register in his head. It’s worse than what he thought. All this time they’ve been fools to think Esther had changed. He had been a fool. “She wants to kill us all, doesn't she? She wants to undo the evil she created.”

 

More tears fill Elena’s eyes, but this time she doesn't even try to wipe them away. “I'm so sorry, Elijah. I wish there was something I could do to help.”

 

Elijah sighs and walks towards the doppelganger. “You know, one thing I've learned on my time on this Earth...be careful what you wish for.”

 

She frowns at him and opens her mouth to respond. Before she could plead her case or ask what he might have meant by that, Elijah stomps hard on the ground. The force is enough to break the wood hidden beneath the patch of grass and they both fall down into the cavern beneath them. Except Elijah is capable of leaving and strands the doppelganger alone. As he walks back towards his car he pulls out his phone. He dials Rebekah's number quickly, listening to the phone ring as he waits to alert his sister of a present she may like to torment.    
  
  


* * *

 

 

“Mother, I came as soon as the manor was empty,” Finn says unseen. Esther can hear his footsteps above her head and she waits as he descends the stairs. She can feel Finn pause behind her as he enters the part of the basement where Esther is. “What’s going on? Who is this?”

 

Esther wishes she had some sort of answer for her eldest son, but she doesn’t. She still doesn’t know who the girl is, other than a reminder of what she would rather not be reminded of. And quite frankly not even Esther knew what was going on. 

 

“What do you know about the hybrids your brother have created?” she asks instead.

 

“Not much, just that they’re a foreign pack Niklaus had moved in.”

 

“Where from?”

 

“Somewhere Northwest, I believe.”

 

Esther frowns again. The location doesn’t match up, but it also isn’t impossible. Of course any of them being alive is what shouldn’t be possible, but if it wasn’t for the girl’s eyes Esther wouldn’t have believed it herself. If she couldn’t feel her own magic radiating off of the girl’s skin then Esther wouldn’t have thought any of this possible. 

 

Alas, it is.

 

“Mother, is she one of Niklaus’ hybrids?” Finn asks.

 

“No,” she says, turning to face her son. “She hasn’t been turned by Niklaus.”

 

Finn’s eyes flick toward the slumped figure of the girl again before frowning. “If she hasn’t been turned then that means she must be the Alpha Rebekah was talking about.”

 

Esther’s eyes widen as she turns to face the girl again. After knocking her out Esther had smuggled the girl away from Niklaus’ manor and brought her here to the ancestral witch house. The magic was strong enough in this location that she could use it as fuel for her spell. It was also someplace remote she could use to figure everything out. 

 

If this girl was the Alpha then that only meant one thing. Niklaus would only have one purpose for the girl and Esther knew what her son craved above anything else; power. He might have created his hybrid army, but the very last key lied with the girl Esther held captive. A smile took over her face when she realized just how she would use the girl.

 

“None of this is making sense,” Finn stated, pulling her out of her thoughts. “What does the girl have to do with anything?”

 

“I created her Finn,” Esther admits. “I created all of them, but I created them so they could die, so they could finally be punished for what they took from me. It just seems that Nature has a way of interfering with everything.”

 

The girl groans where she rests against an old couch. Her nose twitches before one eye strays open and glances about the room. She freezes when she sees Esther and Finn surveying her.

 

“Wha--” she groans, mouth and throat scratchy from disuse and she begins to cough.

 

“Those chains should have kept you knocked out for much longer,” Esther observes as she approaches the girl. The girl struggles against the chains keeping her immobile. At least that part of the spell was working. “But it seems you might not be as impervious to all of the magic.”

 

Esther grips the girl’s cheeks to look at her face, but she pulls away to snap her shifted teeth at Esther’s fingers.

 

“Ow,” Esther curses, just having saved her fingers from being detached by a millisecond. “You are a crude little thing, aren’t you?”

 

“Take these chains off of me and I can show you just how crude I am capable of being,” she spits back. She emphasizes her threat with pulling against the chains. They rattle around her arms and ankles, but other than slight groaning they hold up.

 

“Don’t worry, little animal, those chains are capable of holding an Original immobile for weeks. I even added something special for you to keep you in your human form. Plus, I think they suit you nicely.”

 

Instead of a response the girl kicks out her foot, toppling Esther onto the ground before her. She moves to straddle Esther and brings her chained hands down to Esther’s neck.The metal digs into her throat and Esther can feel her eyes bulging at the lack of air. It is only a couple seconds, but it feels like a lifetime for Esther, later that Finn dislodges her. He grabs the girl by her hair and pulls her away. Her eyes flash red at Esther before she is knocked back into a wall. Her back and head connecting with the wall and she gasps out in pain before slumping over unconscious.

 

Esther places one of her shaky hands around her throat. The skin is sore, even under the light touch of her fingers and she knows a bruise is already forming. She coughed and spit out the sour taste in her mouth.

 

“Mother, I think you better explain just who this girl is and who you were talking about.”

 

“Later,” Esther snaps. “The Bennet witches should be arriving any second now.”

 

Finn nods and leaves the basement to receive their guests. Esther huffs as she stands to her feet. She walks to the girl and grabs her by the ankles, bare feet dirty from the dusty floor. She’s not very heavy, the girl couldn’t be taller than 5 foot 5 inches and weigh more than 120 pound. It is more of the shock of being almost choked to death that causes Esther issues. She drags her to a post in the wall and attaches the chains around her hands to the post.

 

That should keep the little animal from attacking her again.

 

Once finished Esther wipes her hands off on her thighs and ascends the stairs. She can hair voices from upstairs and catches the tail end of something Bonnie was saying: “screaming about getting involved with vampire business.”

 

Esther stands at the top of the basement stairs and smiles at the two. “Bennett witches. Thank you for coming. I can think of no better allies than the woman who sent Mikael into his long sleep and the girl who fought Niklaus so bravely.”

 

Abby, the older Bennet witch, frowns at Esther and crosses her arms over her chest. “Why exactly did you invite us here?”

 

“It is simple. You are the descendants of the witch Ayana. She was a great mentor of mine and I think it's only fitting that I draw from her bloodline.”

 

Bonnie takes a step forward and motions to the house in front of them. “So are you channeling our ancestors?”

 

Esther shakes her head. “I draw from the entirety of the Bennett bloodline, living and dead. The connection affords me great power, although it is somewhat difficult to maintain, which is why I require you, mother and daughter. The bloodline made manifest. Tonight, my sisters, we shall bring peace to the spirits of nature that we serve and for that I thank you.”

 

“What exactly do you want, Esther?” Bonnie asks.

 

Esther smiles at the two witches. “To finally right the wrongs that have plagued this Earth for centuries.” 

 

The two Bennet witches glance at each other, but it is the daughter who steps forward, uncrossing her arms. “Fine,” she states. “Show us what we have to do.”

 

* * *

  
  
  
  


The goal of brotherly bonding brings the two younger Mikaelson brothers to the Mystic Grill. Klaus had to admit that the small bar and grill had a certain charm to it. The charm being that he could always find someone to agonize. He takes in a deep breath when he walks through the threshold. Ever since awakening his dormant wolf side, his sense of smell had sharpened to an alarming rate. As an Original vampire his smell was already heightened. He could sometimes smell blood a mile away on his more bloodthirsty binges. 

 

Now? His sense of smell was able to alert him to the absence of any supernatural residents. He smiled to himself and turned to his younger brother. “Mystic Falls may be quaint, brother, but at least this little pub boasts a full bar.”

 

Kol smirks and they head towards said bar. Klaus gets him a couple rounds and he spikes the shots with a special potion of vervain he keeps around to hasten the effects of alcohol on a vampire. The shots burn all the way down his throat, but he pushes through it until the last empty glass in back on the wooden bartop. 

 

“So?” Kol asks after taking all of his shots but one. “I’m not an idiot, Niklaus. I mean, I was a little surprised when you agreed to come along. Me and you haven’t always seen eye to eye, daggers aside, but now you’re buttering me up with drinks? Not to mention the intoxicate potions? What exactly are you playing at brother?”

 

Klaus chuckles and leans against the bar to survey his brother. “Have no fear, Kol. I promise my intentions are pure. Aren’t we all trying to be a family again?”

 

“Yes, we are. Which is exactly why I’m asking you instead of plotting your ruin.” Kol eyes his drink before sitting it back on the bartop, untouched. “What is it?”

 

Klaus sighs. “The full moon is only in a couple of days,” he began. “The wolves are sired by me, but with Antoinette still in the picture, she remains an obstacle in their loyalty to me.”

 

“But how Niklaus?” Kol asks exasperated. “Your sire bond ensures that they’ll pretty much do whatever you say.”

 

“Yes, but the Alpha’s influence is different for the cursed wolves. It will always remain the singular binding law that the pack follows. What the Alpha says goes, despite any compulsion, loopholes, or spells. None exist. It is why being the Alpha is necessary.”

 

Kol whistles dramatically and lifts his shot back to his lips. “You’ve caught yourself in quite the pickle. Although I’m not sure why you haven’t just offed the girl anyways. Who cares if the wolves feel bitter? You’d be Alpha and the matter would be settled.”

 

Klaus refrains from screwing up his face in a dissatisfied frown. Yes, Kol brought up a very good point. It was also Klaus’ first response when faced with the obstacle, but after meeting the girl and having his sibling interfere he was seeking an alternative solution. He didn’t know exactly how the wolves would respond to Klaus killing off their Alpha, but he definitely knew Saul might have an objection in the matter. What would it matter if she died? Any resistance would be futile. 

 

“She’s young,” he concedes. It was the truth. He might not have known her exact age, but 1,000 years have taught him how to distinguish how youthful a person’s blood might be.

 

Kol rolls his eyes and finally downs the last shot. “Jesus Christ, Niklaus. When have you ever shied away from taking a life? You’ve become a werewolf and suddenly you’ve lost your appetite?”

 

Klaus rolls his eyes. Kol’s dislike of werewolves was never a secret and Klaus has years of experience ignoring his childish attempts at provocation. “Enough, Kol. What did you find?”

 

“Well,” Kol begins, drawing out the last syllable as he twirls a finger in the air. “After you forced me on a vague quest with the threat of being shut in a box for another century, I traveled long and far, searched high and low, brother. I assure you there was not a single rock left unturned--”

 

“Get to the point, Kol.”

 

“--but I found nothing.”

 

“Nothing?” Klaus asks. The word kind of sounds hollow in his ears, but he pushes past that thought. “Aren’t you supposed to have secret lieges of witches in love with you?”

 

Kol rolls his eyes. “It doesn’t matter what connections I have, brother, if no one knows anything about them. The Demon wolves are an anomaly. No one knows who they are or where they came from, let alone a way to get around a strange inheritance bind.”

 

Klaus sighs and runs a sweaty hand through his head. 

 

“What can I say brother? Witches are crafty little things. Whoever did this wanted them to suffer, not only are they stuck that way, but the emotional scarring kil--”

 

Whatever secrets Kol was just about to go let spill, Klaus cuts Kol off. His hand is wrapped around Kol’s neck, but not tight enough to cause damage, but it sure is one hell of a warning.

 

“Careful brother, it sounds like you might have discovered more than you let on,” Klaus says. 

 

He releases him just as quickly and Kol staggers back. He throws a glare at the Original hybrid and slaps Klaus’ hand out the air between them. 

 

“Oh fuck off, Nik! Enough of the threats. Yes I heard something, but it was only enough to know you’ve been lying to Elijah. You can’t kill her, because you don’t know what will happen to your army if she dies. You’re not in her bloodline, so it wouldn’t work. For all you know, killing her could end your own life as well.”

 

Klaus snaps his mouth shut. Kol is absolutely right. Not much is known about the Demon wolves, but if there was one thing Niklaus Mikaelson would uncover it would a weakness. The Demon wolves can die just as any other werewolf, but what made them special was how the Alpha power passed on. The fact of the matter was that the only thing that threatened a Demon wolf Alpha’s power was another wolf within that bloodline. 

 

“I only know the same things you know, I’m not keeping secrets,” Kol says dispassionately. 

 

Klaus scoffs. “If I let every scary story dissuade me where would I be? Probably long dead and by our dear father’s own hand nonetheless.” 

 

Kol frowns but shrugs. “Now I understand why you didn’t want prying ears around for our conversation. Are you planning on telling them the truth? Were you ever planning on telling me the truth, Niklaus?”

 

“No, I wasn’t,” he snaps back. He didn’t appreciate this little attempt at family bonding not one bit. Esther might be back in their lives and the truth about her death revealed, but that didn’t make this a feelings fest. “You didn’t need to know, so you weren’t told. Count the fact that I’m not already ripping out your spleen a display of my brotherly love for you.” 

 

Kol scoffs. He waves the bartender over and orders a couple drinks for them. He hands one to Klaus and raises it while meeting his eyes. 

 

“If that’s the case then, let’s just hope your own ego doesn’t get you killed.”

 

Klaus rolls his eyes but accepts the shot from Kol. “Enough of that.” He shakes his head and tilts it in the direction of two incoming people.

 

“Mikaelson siblings,” Alaric Salztman says in greeting, “we were just talking about serial killing vampires.”

 

Klaus smirks and looks over both him and the dark haired woman next to him. “Oh come on now. Let's not go blaming the new family in town just because you lot have got yourselves a killer at large. Don't mind us. My brother and I are just here to let off some steam, right Kol?” 

 

Kol grins at the woman. “Right.”

 

“What brings you two into town?” Alaric asks, eyes locked on the stare down between Meredith and Kol.

 

“Just brotherly bonding and happy hour,” Kol says, throwing an arm around Klaus’ shoulders and bringing him closer. 

 

“Come on, Alaric. Let’s just go play some pool,” Meredith says, grabbing his arm and moving them further away from the Originals. 

 

Kol watches them retreat with interest, but shakes his head and turns to face Klaus.

 

“What lovely townies,” he comments.

 

Klaus laughs and smacks him on the back. “Remember brother, we are supposed to be cordial with those townies.”

 

“Why, Niklaus, when am I ever anything, but on my best behavior?” Kol grins. 

 

Klaus rolls his eyes. He’s thankful they had moved on from their earlier topic. Even though they were safe from any supernaturals overhearing, Klaus was wary to continue the discussion. The full moon was fast approaching and Esther’s arrival was throwing a wrench in his plans. She might have forgiven him, but he wasn’t willing to risk his hybrids to his mother’s whims.

 

The door to the grill opens and Klaus gets a faint whiff of perfume before sighing. Caroline Forbes.

 

Although he had cleared up whatever misguided emotions he felt towards the young blonde, it didn’t mean she wasn’t a sore spot for him.

 

“Perfect timing,” Kol comments. He had met Caroline during the party Esther threw, and recognizes her as she looks at them from across the room. “I’ll show you just how cordial I can be!”

 

Kol pushes off of the bar with one last glance at Klaus and moves toward the other vampire. 

 

Klaus orders more drinks. God knowing that he’ll need them. 

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Esther leds the witches to another part of the manor. She had already used her time to set up the spell. Now with the Bennet witches backing her she could begin. 

 

“The pentagram represents our connection to magic. The salt is a symbol of the Earth,” she explains, walking around the pentagram in the middle of the floor.

 

“The torches?” Bonnie asks, handing touching one of the closer torches lightly.

 

“Five torches.” She points to each one. “One for each of my children.”

 

“What's the spell you're doing?”

 

“As the witch who cast the spell that made them vampires, I can also reverse it. When they become human again, they can be killed. As they are linked as one, my brave Finn will be the sacrifice. With his death, will come theirs.”

 

Abby turns to where Finn stands by the entrance of the room, a frown on her lips. “And you're just willing to die?” she asks skeptically. 

 

Finn nods and meets her eyes evenly. “My mother has released me from an eternity of shame. It's not a sacrifice, it's a gift.”

 

“Finn understands that this is necessary,” Esther says. She walks over to where he stands and squeezes his hand. “Shall we begin? The spell will need time to activate.”

 

* * *

  
  
  


Apparently Kol can be cordial when he wants to, Klaus learns. Which is exactly how he ends up playing pool with Caroline and his brother. It’s when he’s getting ready to sink the Q ball that the door to the grill bursts open again. This time it’s a smell Klaus is begrudgingly familiar with, one that is usually associated with bergamot, but this time it is absent. 

 

“Hey asshole,” Saul says. He runs right over to him, ignoring the rest of the people present and grips Klaus’ shoulder. “We have a problem.”

 

Klaus yanks his shoulder free with enough force that it rattles the both of them. He turns with his eyes flashing yellow and fangs elongated to Saul. “The only problem, hybrid, is your lack of personal space.”

 

Saul flashes red eyes at Klaus, but doesn’t reach for him again. “What did you do to Antoinette? She never came back,” he states.

 

Klaus rolls his eyes and reaches for his drink. “I haven’t the faintest idea of what you’re talking about.”

 

A growl is his only warning before the drink Klaus was about to press against his lips is knocked out of his hand. The glass shattering on the hardwood and the liquor spilling out onto the cracks. The sound is enough to alert some of the closer patrons, but most pay them no mind. Klaus is keenly aware of Alaric’s and Meridith’s eyes on them, but they’re too far to properly make out any of their words. Caroline, on the other hand, watches with rapt attention.

 

“Didn you speak to her last night?” he asks. “She left the forest to go find you, but she never returned!”

 

Saul’s words come out slurred because of his fangs that are refusing to shift back. His hands are curled loosely to his sides, but Klaus can see sharp claws slowly pointing out from fingertips.

 

“Aye,” Kol says, grabbing the hybrid’s attention. “Calm down. We’ll get to the bottom of this, alright?”

 

Saul looks over at Kol, frowns, but nods. Saul takes a visible breath and turns back to face Klaus with his eyes back to their chocolate brown color. “I waited up all night, but she never came back,” he explains. “I didn want to leave, but something doesn feel right.”

 

“Okay,” Klaus concedes. Saul is the second-in-command, if he’s coming here, leaving the pack, because he thinks something might be wrong with Antoinette, then Klaus would be a fool to ignore him. “Did you look for her?”

 

Saul rolls his eyes at him, but doesn’t lose any of his composure as he snaps back: “Of course I did! I could only pick up an older scent and it vanishes by the manor.”

 

“Are you sure she just didn’t tire of the Alpha lifestyle and chose instead to run away?” Klaus can’t help but quib back.

 

This time, he does see the punch aimed in his direction and he is quick enough to block it. But he isn’t quick enough to block the knee aimed at his gut. The air is knocked out of him and he takes a step back, coughing and laughing at the same time.

 

“You’re a dick,” Saul mumbles. “Antoinette is a good Alpha.”

 

“Then where is she?”

 

“Taken. There was another scent mingled with hers and something that smelled like burnt magic.”

 

“Fine,” Klaus says. He looks at both his brother and Saul. “We will check the manor first, see if we can pick up one her trail and go from there.”

 

Saul nods his head and turns to leave without waiting for the others. 

 

“What was that?” Caroline asks, from where she stood watching the whole thing.

 

“Nothing you need to worry your little head about,” Kol teases, tapping her nose gently. Caroline grimaces and slaps his hand away.

 

“Let’s go Kol. It looks like our fun is over for the night.”

 

They find Saul back at the manor, arms crossed and a frown on his face, with another one of the hybrids standing next to him. This one is a little shorter than the second, with pulled back dark blonde hair with a straight nose and piercing blue eyes. He quickly rakes his eyes over the two vampires, but then looks away, stuffing his hands into his pockets like the picture of nonchalant. 

 

“This is [Stace](https://www.tvovermind.com/5-things-didnt-know-jamie-campbell-bower/),” he informs them with a tilt of his head. The hybrid nods curtly, but doesn’t offer any words of greeting. “Stace is our second best tracker.”

 

“Whose the first?” Kol asks.

 

“Antoinette,” Saul says with a frown.

 

“Isn’t that just perfect,” Kol mumbled under his breath.

 

“What are you able to smell?” Klaus asks the younger hybrid. 

 

“Uh,” Stace begins with a scratchy voice. He clears it before turning to address them again. “Antoinette was here last night, but it smells like someone else intercepted her before she was able to meet with you. They tried to cover their trail, but my nose is good.”

 

“So you can track to where they went?” Klaus asks.

 

“Not exactly. The magic stops me from following where the scent goes, but that doesn’t stop me from following where the magic came from.”

 

“Great,” Klaus says, standing back. “Lead the way.”

 

Stace looks quickly over his shoulder at Saul, who nods in permission. Only then does the hybrid move towards the manor. Out the corner of his eye, Klaus can see Kol watching him with rapt attention.

 

“It takes me here,” Stace says, entering the manor. He pauses in the doorway and takes a large breath before moving further into the building.

 

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Kol mumbles as they follow Stace up the stairs and pass the second floor. Stace pauses another time at the top of the third floor landing. He pivots around, attempting to orient himself before taking a step to the left.

 

“Enough,” Klaus announces. 

 

“What?” Saul asks, standing on a step below him. “But we didn find out who took Annie.”

 

“There’s no need to carry this on. I know who exactly took your dear Alpha. There’s only a handful of people who have rooms on this floor and only one of them is capable of kidnapping an Alpha werewolf and using magic to hide their trail. It seems our mother has gotten her hands on one of my assets.” 

 

The last part he directs at Kol. 

 

“But why would she do something like that?” Kol asks.

 

“Maybe because she thrives off of my unhappiness? Does she really need a reason, Kol?”

 

“Your mother did this?” Saul asks. “She took Antoinette?”

 

“Yes, Saul, please keep up.”

 

Saul growls in response, but Klaus is already moving away from them. If his mother really is the culprit then it’s imperative that they find Antoinette before it is too late. Who knew what Esther wanted with the girl, but he didn’t want to find out. 

 

“Where are you going?” Kol asks.

 

“There’s only so many places our mother can hide in this pathetic town. It’s time to rally the troops and have them search every nook and cranny until we find that woman. And this time, I’ll make sure she stays dead.”

 

He exits the manor, planning on heading towards the pack house, but arms are wrapped around him before he’s able to reach his destination. Klaus pivots and lowers his center of gravity, effectively knocking his attacker onto the ground in front of him. Stefan glares back up at him, a stake in his hand.

 

“I thought we were friends again?” Klaus asks mockingly.

 

“Yeah, right after we get even.”

 

A scuffle from behind distracts Klaus and he turns to see his brother being subdued by Damon and Alaric, a stake in his heart as he collapses to the ground. 

 

“I should have killed you months ago,” Klaus spits, heading towards his fallen brother.

 

Damon smirks at him. “Do it. It's not going to stop Esther from killing you.”

 

Klaus pauses in his steps. “What did you say about my mother?”

 

Damon shrugs and loosely twirls another stake in his hands. “You didn't know I was friends with your mummy? Yeah, we have a lot in common. She hates you as much as I do.”

 

Klaus moves to attack Damon, but a hand on his shoulder stops him. He turns to glare at Elijah, but his brother keeps his eyes straight ahead. At this point Stace and Saul have emerged from the manor and watch from the top of the stairs.

 

“Leave him! We still need them, Niklaus.”

 

Klaus shrugs the hand off of his shoulder and turns to glare at his brother. “What did mother do? What did she do, Elijah?”

 

Elijah walks towards Damon and removes his phone from his pocket. “You tell me where the witches are or I'll have my sister kill Elena right now.”

 

Damon looks at the time on the phone and frowns. “You told me we had until after nine.”

 

Elijah shrugs nonchalantly. “I'm sure Rebekah will be more than happy to start her work early.”

 

“Fine,” Damon spits. “They’re at the old witch manor. The one where we kept the coffins.”

 

Elijah nods and places his phone back in his pocket. “You’re free to leave,” he states.

 

The trio waste no time in fleeing the manor. When their headlights disappear in the distance Klaus turns on his brother. 

 

“They could be lying!” he snaps.

 

“They’re not,” Elijah states calmly.

 

“How could you know that? Not only is Esther trying to kill is, but she also kidnapped Antoinette. Now is not the time for uncertainty.”

 

Elijah’s eyes widen at that and he quickly glances at the two hybrids. “They’re not, but we should go before they have time to warn her.”

 

“Hey!” Saul yells, descending the stairs. “I’m coming with you!”

 

“What about me?” Stace asks from the top of the stairs.

 

Saul frowns. “Stay with the pack,” he instructs. “Make sure everyone is okay while I bring Annie back.”

 

Stace nods and heads back to the pack house.

 

While they’re talking Klaus walks over to kol and removes the stake from his heart. “Wake up, brother. We have a ceremony to crash.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introduced another OC: Stace, who I love. Also some more DW lore, let me know if you need clarification!


	8. The Price You Pay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The full moon is approaching and so is Esther's plans to kill off all her children.

"What is your name?"

 

Esther scrubbed her hands together. Finn and the Bennet witches were preoccupied upstairs. Until the moon was at its highest point in the night sky, they could do nothing but wait. Which gave Esther time to think about her little… situation. The girl had woken up, but hadn't said a single word since Esther joined her. She preferred to only stare ahead at nothing instead of answering her questions. 

 

"You think you'll gain anything from keeping your mouth shut?" Esther asks, pacing back and forth in front of her. "There's nothing you could tell me that I don't already know."

 

"So you are aware how much of a psychotic bitch you are!" the girl spits and Esther just smiles down at her.

 

"You sound just like my son," she says offhand.

 

The girl noticeably pauses and looks over where Esther stands. Her eyes rove over her form and they widen after she comes to come conclusion.

 

"Niklaus Mikaelson," she mumbles, "that's your son?"

 

Esther crosses her arms over her chest. "They're all my children, you little scoundrel."

 

The girl throws her head back and laughs, full and throaty. She doesn't stop until she has to take in air, but even then her shoulders shake with leftover amusement. Her eyes are sparkling in mirth when she locks onto Esther again.

 

"You must be Esther, then," she surmised. "I wish I could say I enjoyed a single moment of this, but I plan on killing you as soon as I get free of these shackles." She emphasizes her point by straining against the chains and they groan against her strength, but hold steady. 

 

"You've already tried that once, but here I stand!" Esther expands her arms and takes a step towards the wolf

 

"Unlike Niklaus, I'll make sure you stay rotting in the forest ground. There won't be a piece of you left to bring back from the dead."

 

"You have such an aggressive personality," Esther says, gripping the girls chin between her bony fingers. She tries to pull away, but Esther holds her firm. "It's probably killing you that I have you sequestered like this, away from your pack, unable to even protect them from a simple storm. Your instincts are probably going haywire right now, telling you that you  _ need _ to get away, that you  _ need _ to be somewhere but here."

 

The girl doesn't speak, but she wasn't expecting her to respond. "You really are a beautiful girl," Esther says with a sigh, releasing her face. "I just want you to know this isn't personal, dear, if I had it my way you wouldn't have even been born in the first place."

 

The girl frowns. 

 

"But it seems your kind is way more... tenacious than what I originally thought. If you won't just kill yourselves off then a guiding hand is necessary."

 

Esther stands a moves away from the girl, over to a table she has set up. On the table she has various bundles of herbs gathered, as well as shallow dish and tool to grind the herbs and a curved knife.

 

"What are you talking about?" the girl asks after a stretch of silence.

 

"Oh?" Esther asks, hands still occupied with the herbs she is grinding together. "Are you telling me that you haven't realized it yet? Come on you must have at least felt something."

 

"Your magic… it feels old."

 

Esther snorts. "Not old; familiar."

 

"Familiar?" she asks.

 

"Yes, it means something you have previously encountered."

 

"But I have never met you before."

 

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you aren't already well acquainted with my magic. It is what makes you  _ you _ ."

 

Esther looks up to see green eyes already locked on her. She pushes a small amount of her magic out, just enough to gently brush against the girl. The second her magic reaches the girl her eyes shift red and she rears back against the wall. She shakes her head quickly, in an attempt to wash off the foreign influence, but Esther can see she has her full attention now.

 

"How is this possible?" she asks.

 

"What's your name?" Esther asks again.

 

The girl frowns, but eventually she concedes, "Antoinette."

 

"Well, Antoinette, a long time ago I got my heart broken. The man I loved was murdered by a vengeful woman. She thought she was taking everything from me, that I would never be happy again, but she was wrong. In fact, my greatest happiness was slipping into that woman's village and cursing her entire bloodline. I wanted them to suffer for what she did to me, to never know peace."

 

Esther pauses in her actions. 

 

"But of course it seemed like I created a bunch of wolf-cockroaches who refuse to die."

 

Antoinette opens her mouth, probably to ask what's a cockroach, but Esther interrupts her. She picks up the knife and wipes it clean on her sleeve before approaching the girl-- Antoinette. She struggles against her bindings, but Esther successfully draws a line of blood on her forearm. She goes back to the table and let's the collected blood slowly drips into the shallow dish.

 

"What are you doing?"

 

"I've sensed some foreign magic in you, this is just a test to tell me who has been messing with my toys."

 

She closes her eyes and mutters a short spell. Her palms warm where they float above the mixture. The spell should give her a read on the other witch, one strong enough that if Esther ever saw them she'd immediately be able to identify them. What she doesn't expect is the whiplash she gets after performing the spell. She moves her hands to reveal ashes and smoke.

 

"What does that mean?" Antoinette asks, reading the surprise on Esther's face.

 

"It wasn't a witch who interfered, but Nature itself."

 

There's a moment of silence between them at the news. Esther feels her hands shaking where they rest on the tabletop, but she can't take her eyes off the girl. This doesn't change anything in her book. What she is shouldn't be possible, but Esther has the proof right in front of her. When she actually looks at the girl she can see it too, not just a pretty face, but a weapon.

 

Touched by nature herself.

 

In an instant she has the knife in her hand again, every intention on just ending the girl now, but a voice upstairs stalls her. 

 

"They're coming, Mother!" 

 

Antoinette isn't a threat, at least bound up like she is, her children on the other hand are. This will have to wait. She only has time to eliminate one of her mistakes and Antoinette's death will have to wait. 

 

She drops the knife and turns to run up the stairs. She sees Finn and the Bennet witches standing in the foyer as she joins them. "No, it's too soon, the moon is not high enough." She turns to the witches and motions for them to go further into the house. "Go! Quickly!"

 

They heed her warning and she faces her oldest son. "Let's go deal with your wayward siblings."

 

They step out of the house and into the front yard. The pentagram has already been set up for her and she walks into the middle of it and raises her arms in a welcoming manner. "My sons, come forward."

 

Kol, Elijah, and Klaus walk out of the woods slowly, as well as another figure she doesn't know by sight. She was expecting their scorn, but the hatred on their faces is enough to challenge her resolve. They won't understand, they could never understand a parent's love. What it drove her to do. But she didn't need their understanding or acceptance. She would go to her grave with her family hating her, but she would not regret this decision for a moment.

 

Finn joins her in the pentagram and takes a stance in front of her. "Stay beside me, mother."

 

"It's okay," she says. She flicks her wrist and the torches along the pentagram light with a flame. "They can't enter."

 

Kol is the first to approach them and he lifts a hand to test the boundary but the torches reply in tandem and begin to flare up around them. The heat is enough to drive him back and he pulls his hand away.

 

"That's lovely. We're stuck out here, while the favorite son plays sacrificial lamb," he directs to his brothers, but turns to face them both when he says, "How pathetic you are, Finn."

 

"Be quiet, Kol," Esther commands. "Your brother knows virtue you cannot even imagine."

 

"Whatever you think of us, killing your own children will be an atrocity," Elijah says, joining his younger brother at the perimeter of the pentagram.

 

Esther smiles. "My only regret is that I did not let you die a thousand years ago."

 

Klaus, who was previously standing further away, sucks his teeth and takes a step forward. "Enough. What have you done with Antoinette?"

 

"Who?" she asks innocently, tilting her head as if the name means nothing to her. The girls disappearance must have stirred up some alarm, but she had hoped it would be enough to distract them. Plus, she didn't expect them to think she had any hand in the situation.

 

The unknown man sniffs the air and frowns before leveling red eyes at Esther. She doesn't let the sight unnerve her, but the subtle twitch in her eye doesn't go undetected from both hybrids.

 

"She's lying," he says, pointing to Esther. "Even from here I can smell Annie all over you." His eyes flash red again and he takes a threatening step forward. "Did you hurt her? Why do I smell her blood on your hands?"

 

"That Demon is locked up where she needs to be," Esther snaps. "After I'm done with my children you'll be joining her."

 

"All this talk is boring me. End this now, Mother, or I'll send you back to Hell," Klaus replies.

 

Esther shakes her head sadly. 

 

"For a thousand years, I've been forced to watch you. Felt the pain of every victim, suffered while you shed blood. Even you, Elijah, with your claim to nobility, you're no better. All of you. You're a curse on this Earth. Stretched out over generations. If you've come to plead for your life, I'm sorry, you've wasted your time."

 

"There will be no pleading, mother. Do you know what people do nowadays to their parents when they get too old?" Kol asks. "They dispose of them, and you've become senile with old age."

 

"What our brother is trying to say," Elijah begins, fixing his suit jacket, "is that we've had enough of your influence. You lied to us and actively sought to destroy us."

 

"Give us back Antoinette and stop this. Maybe then I'll make your death swift."

 

Esther sighs, finally feeling the full weight of what's going on. There was no way to convince them. Her only saving grace was that she wouldn't have Finn's hate to shoulder. She closes her eyes and ignore them, focusing on the spell she only has to recite.

 

The words ease from her mouth and around her she's aware of the shouting and the groans of pain, but she carries on. The energy from the pentagram feeds into her and she pushes her magic back. Right when she feels the spell approaching it's climax there's a stop in the flow of magic. It has here falling back onto her butt and she reaches a hand out towards the house.

 

"No! Sisters! Do not abandon me!"

 

"Mother!" Finn says, grabbing onto her.

 

The last thing she's aware of before the magic completely runs out is Finn grabbing her and moving towards the side of the house.

 

* * *

  
  
  


"Where are they?!" Klaus roars in the wake of the sabotaged spell. The explosion from the torches was enough to momentarily stun them while Finn and his mother made their escape. But Klaus was able to gather his senses faster than the others and he realized the problem faster than the others. 

 

Saul doesn't offer any words, but races to the side of the house. Klaus follows him and he can hear his siblings behind him as they descend the stairs. 

 

"She was here," Saul says once they reach the basement. He stops and sniffs the air again before moving further into the basement. 

 

"I thought your nose was no good," Kol says, standing next to an old pillar.

 

"It's not a thing compared to Stace and Annie, but I would know the scent of her blood anywhere."

 

Inside the small room Klaus is able to pick up hints of blood and bergamot, but there's no Antoinette.

 

"They must have taken her with them," Elijah states looking around the room. He goes over to the table where the smell of blood is strongest and lifts a bowl full of ashes to his nose. "What is this?"

 

Kol grabs the bowl from him and sniffs it himself. "It smells like blood, herbs, and ash."

 

"Yes, but why?" Klaus asks, taking the bowl and sniffing it quickly before passing it to Saul.

 

"One of the herbs she used was yarrow, it's mostly used to stop the flow of something: blood, water, magic." Kol dips finger fingers back into the bowl and rubs them together. "But this texture and color, it reminds me of lithops."

 

Klaus rolls his eyes. "There's no need to be dramatic, spit it out."

 

"Lithops, the living stones, you must have heard a story about them," Kol begins.

 

"Yes, in some folklore they turn into trolls," Elijah states.

 

"Exactly, they're sentient in a way, not that they're going to get up and walk around, but they remember everything. Some lore says they'll always remember who walked by them, who talked to them, and who stepped on them."

 

"She's trying to find someone," Klaus murmurs. "Your pack?" He asks turning to Saul.

 

"I don't know," Saul shrugs.

 

"No, I doubt the blood connection is strong enough to track the rest of the pack through," Elijah says grabbing the bowl again. 

 

Kol shakes his head and crosses his arms over his chest. "Plus this doesn't look like any locator spell I've ever seen. It's designed more like some sort of identifying spell."

 

"What if our mother wasn't looking for the pack, but who cursed the pack in the first place?"

 

Saul turns to the Original, "But why would she care?"

 

"I'm not sure," Elijah says with a frown.

 

"The spell of that magnitude, one as complex as your curse would require a lot of magic and skill," Klaus states. "She might be looking for allies."

 

"That doesn' make any sense," Saul says. 

 

"She might not be looking for the caster themselves, but if they had any children then there's a chance their bloodline is strong."

 

"Can we use this to track her?" Klaus asks, directing his question to Kol.

 

The younger Original shakes his head. "No, her blood is almost completely burnt up by the spell and I doubt our mother would be so careless to not activate an anti-locator spell on them."

 

"So what happens now?" Saul asks, turning red eyes onto Klaus. 

 

"Now we go back to the manor," Klaus says, turning from them all and heading towards the steps. He's not happy at the turn of events. His mother and Finn managed to escape and with Antoinette in tow, nonetheless. They were still linked, which was annoying. He hated feeling vulnerable like this, one mistake and his whole family could be ended. Klaus didn't work as hard as he did to have it result in nothing. He would get Antoinette back and silence his mother for a final time.

 

Saul must have been of the same mindset, because he rushes over to Klaus and grabs his shoulder.

 

"You're giving up? Your mother is hurting Annie and you are just going to let that happen to her?" Saul snaps.

 

"No," Klaus spits, unseating Saul's grip on him. "But can't you see that we have no other options at the moment? Both my mother and your dear Alpha are gone. We will get them back, but we have to regroup."

 

Saul locks red eyes onto Klaus and then levels a glare at all of the brothers. "You better be right, because if anything happens to Annie, I'd kill you before your mother even has the chance to." 

 

"And I'm sure she'd kill you directly afterwards for taking her spotlight," Klaus retorts. "And where would that leave us, hm? Just a couple of rotting corpses and no Antoinette to show for it?"

 

"At least she'd be safe from you," Saul says, but doesnt wait for a response. He shoulders past Klaus and begins to ascend the stairs. In the next second Klaus can hear the sound of clothes hitting the floor and the cracking of bones as Saul shifts his body into a wolf. 

 

"He is going to be a problem," Kol sings as he steps next to him. "And he's her second, right?"

 

Klaus ignores Kol's comment in favor of turning to his older brother. "I'll have to keep an eye on that one, won't I? I don't completely trust his loyalty."

 

Elijah frowns. "If he becomes a problem, can't you just use your sire bond to get him to fall in line?"

 

Klaus can feel Kol's eyes on him, but he doesn't waver on his lies. "I would prefer to have my subjects loyal to me. I have my hands full with one unruly hybrid in the form of Tyler Lockwood."

 

Elijah eyes him skeptically but doesn't question his reasoning. He glances at both brothers, and opens his mouth, but changes his mind and closes it. With a shake of his head he throws one last look around the house before turning to leave. 

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


He's been back in the manor for awhile when Rebekah walks into his room. He expects her huff of breath after her day. Although watching the doppelganger is tough work, he's sure his sister enjoyed every second of it. He turns from where he was previously gazing out the window to face Rebekah. Her hair is pulled back from her face and she has a hand propped up on her hip. 

 

"Where the bloody hell is everyone?" Rebekah asks?

 

The time he's had is enough for him to decide on one thing. And it's important. "It's over, Rebekah."

 

Rebekah frowns, hand sliding pimply down her side. "Where's mother?"

 

Elijah sighs, "We have no mother. Only Esther, and Esther was right."

 

"What do you mean?"

 

Elijah motions around the room as if it all proves their mother correct. "My talk of virtue. When it suits my needs, I kill, maim, and torment. Even today, I terrorized an innocent."

 

Rebekah scuffs. "Elena is hardly innocent."

 

Elijah nods, pointing to his chest. "And I used your hatred of her to get what I wanted. Wielded you like I would a sword. My sister."

 

"You did it to protect us, Elijah, and rightly so! We deserve to live! We are better than they are."

 

Elijah steps away from Rebekah, shaking his head the whole way. Her words just reinforces the divide between them. "Are we? Mother made us vampires. She didn't make us monsters, we did that to ourselves."

 

He leaves before she can say more to try to dissuade him. She may never understand him, but he had already deciding on leaving knowing this. Everything they touch turns rotten. Mystic Falls being a primary example. The Original family had settled in these lands twice. On both occasions they left devastation and death in their wake. How many lives do they have to destroy to quench their thirst for chaos? 

 

If Rebekah is already back then that means Niklaus is probably not far behind her. He had probably stalked off to try to collect what little information he could. After not finding much, Elijah is sure his brother would have to binge his frustrates away with blood, liquor, and women. He would have less than an hour to pack his things and go if he wanted to be far enough away that Niklaus wouldn't decide to pursue him. 

 

He's already in his room, packing the meager belongings he wishes to take with him. Where he plans on going? Out of the country for sure, if he's a dead man walking it wouldn't be on this soil. It's a testament how distracted he is that it isn't until Saul is settled on the window bench that he's aware of his presence.

 

Elijah turns to the open window and halts his hands which were just collecting his journals. The last of what he would bring with him. Saul leans against the window frame and crosses his arms over his chest. He's wearing something different from earlier, probably needing to shift to check on the pack. The material stretches as his arms flex, but it's the anger in his expression that holds Elijah's gaze.

 

"Leavin'?" He asks casually but there's a bite in his tone. "Wha' happened to family and forgiveness?"

 

He lifts up his palm and inside rests a very familiar piece of metal. Elijah's hand itch to reach towards his wrist where he knows those exact cufflinks are missing from. He was aware of their disappearance the moment he had a chance to  _ collect _ himself. But unfortunately that wasn't until he was also coming to terms that he had to leave. He took their disappearance as a sign of what he must do, never expecting to see them again.

 

"Where did you find it?" He asks, placing his journals down in favor of reaching his hand out. Saul turns his palm and the piece of metal falls into Elijah's waiting hand. He fastens it into his wrist with a motion born for habit and glances up at the young man.

 

"With a lyin' Original who would rather forsake his family to death than stand by them."

 

The words are harsh enough to shock clarity into Elijah's mind. Honestly it was just the other day everything was going perfect. He remembers how just not so long ago he believed he would always uphold their oath. Elijah is momentarily shocked speechless and Saul uses the opportunity to push on.

 

"Your mother has Annie. We need to get her back."

 

"Niklaus will handle it." 

 

"Bullshit," Saul spits. "You'll allow your family to die because you hate them?"

 

"I do not hate my siblings, I hate what we have become," Elijah admits, completely exasperated that none of them would understand. "My family has been the nightmares of countless innocents. I am those nightmares. What gives any of us the right to decide which lives are more valuable?"

 

"Then change it!" Saul states easily. He stares back at him as if daring him to counter but Elijah shakes his head warily. "Your brother isn' a wild beast. Your mother isn' unkillable. The rest of your siblings isn' unreasonable. Excep' the one willing to die."

 

Elijah huffs. " 'Aren't unreasonable'," he corrects.

 

"I said it."

 

Elijah shakes his head again and runs a hand through his hair. "What if they can't change? What if Niklaus will still create destruction as he is destined to?"

 

Saul frowns. "Destiny is not a thing."

 

He hesitates to bring his own brother's plans for Antoinette. Surely the hybrid wouldn't sit her advocating for Niklaus' redemption so eagerly knowing that truth.

 

"But it's not them you need to change, it is yourself. You don' have to be an Elijah who does not a thing. Who never tried to do better. Who allowed another innocent girl to get hurt by your family."

 

"Niklaus will make sure your Alpha is unharmed by our mother." Elijah begins to turn away from the hybrid, set on returning to his packing. Saul reaches out and grabs his forearm, hand catching onto the material of his suit jacket. 

 

"I know," Saul says, "But what about him?"

 

Elijah pauses to observe him. Something flashes in his dark brown eyes and Elijah knows that if he leaves now he would regret it. Niklaus will kill Antoinette and probably Saul right afterwards if he were to let his brother have his way. Already he had expressed his distaste in the Second, but Elijah wouldn't think his brother rash. Although something about the topic had Niklaus on edge. And only few things kept his brother on edge.

 

The main one being vulnerability.

 

How many lives do they have to destroy to quench their thirst for chaos? 

 

"I will protect Miss Antoinette," Elijah promises. He says the words aloud to Saul, but deep down he means it to himself as well. He will not allow his brother to kill her, nor will he allow Niklaus Mikaelson to run rampant any longer. They may be predators by nature but they no longer have to be monsters. 

 

* * *

  
  
  


Nothing.

 

Antoinette and his wayward family members have disappeared in a flash of smoke and magic. The only reason he wasn't ripping the town apart was because he knew with the elder Bennett's witches recent death and change, then his mother would be left at a disadvantage. That gave them time, but how long he didn't know. His mother had still managed to link the five of them, but she lacked the power for a killing blow.

 

When he found her, he would inflict a world of pain on her. His brother as well. To pretend to accept him with open arms, only to plan his demise? Those actions have rattled Niklaus, but he wouldn't let it stay that way for long.

 

He hears the clacking of heels from where he hits in the parlor, half finished bottle of dark liquor dangling between his fingertips. He's facing the burning fire place, but he doesn't have to turn around to address Rebekah.

 

"I thought you'd have gone by now. Elijah's leaving. Kol's fled. Esther and Finn are gone too."

 

Rebekah's voice is cold when she begins, but softens as she finishes. "I hated you when I learned you killed our mother. But I realize now that after a thousand years together as a family, you're the  _ only _ one who never left me."

 

Klaus chuckles. "Well, aren't we a pair."

 

"There's something I need you to see." Rebekah moves around the room and sits on the arm rest of the chair. She pulls out her phone and clicks a few buttons before pulling up a video of Elena from earlier in the day.

 

"Come to brag about your skills as a torturer?"

 

He takes the phone from her and tilts the screen towards himself.

 

"Look at the images on the wall behind Elena. The Natives told the story of our family history, look at the images on the far wall."

 

"What is it?" Klaus questions.

 

Rebekah taps the screen to pause it on view of the cave wall. "A Native worshipping at the Great White Oak tree."

 

Klaus takes a quick swing from the bottle. "And? We burned that tree to the ground."

 

"Look at the markings that precede it. That's the native calendar."

 

Klaus pauses and the liquor burns all the way down. "This can't be right."

 

"A White Oak tree, three hundred years after we fled back to the Old World. There must have been a sapling, a new tree to replace the old. That tree could kill us. It's not over, Nik."

 

And where he was just burning stops and freezes all at once

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some blood, some unhealthy coping mechanisms


End file.
